Getting There
by LuvingLyfe
Summary: It'll be a LucasAnna, BrookeFelix, and will eventually be a BrookeLucas forever! Read if you want! Review if you like!
1. Default Chapter

"Have you ever wondered why people do the things they do?" She turned towards me, her eyebrows raised in question. "I mean, with their choices. Whether it's with school, friends, family. How do they come to their conclusions and make the decisions they do?

"I'm not sure. I guess it comes down to what the circumstances are that's surrounding them. It's almost like the saying goes, you play with the hand you've been dealt. At least that's the way I look at things." I reach over and take her small hands in mind and smile softly when she laces her fingers through them. "Why do you ask?"

I watch her as she shrugs her shoulders carelessly. "I don't know, I guess I was just curious. I mean take for instance the kids that go to our school. You have the jocks and the cheerleaders, the brainiacs and the dramatics, and all those other clicks. And I just wonder sometimes how we let ourselves fall into groups like that. What happens to our individuality if we're categorized as a group just because of who we hang out with?" She reaches up and brushes a stray strand of her away from her face with her spare hand. The movement catching my attention. It's amazing to me how such a simple act could cause my heart to skip a beat the way it does.

"We're not. Who we choose to hang out with doesn't determine who we are as individuals. It just adds to our characters. I hang out with you, not because we're alike, but because you have qualities that attract you to me. Look at us, we're as different as night and day, but we still make it work. That's all it takes to make a relationship work, the willingness to make an effort and ability to follow through with your decision. That goes for friendship, romance, family." The room's only lighting came from the candles that were scattered throughout her living room. It offered a cozy atmosphere as the flames danced in the air, causing the light to flicker shadows throughout the place. From the slight crease between her brows I could tell she was deep in thought from what I had just said.

She snuggles herself deeper into the pillows on the couch and smiles softly my way and I can see her dimples flashing. "Yeah you have a point there. I guess all that reading you do counts for something doesn't it? Otherwise, how else could you be so insightful?" She teased.

I chuckled at her joke but go along with it anyway. "Hey, you know what they say, reading is like food for the brain or something." This caused her to erupt in laughter. As I sit there and watch her I can't help the desire that builds up inside of me. All I want to do is reach over, grab her in my arms and kiss her until she's breathless from it. Nobody has ever had the effect she's had on me. And I honestly don't think anybody else will. She was like one of those things where, once you've had it, it ruins you for everybody else. I don't even think she knows what kind of power she holds over me. If she did, I'd be in a whole lot of trouble. But I can't act on my feelings for her. I already have a girlfriend, it wouldn't be right. In the distance of my mind I can hear her voice calling my name, pulling me out of my reverie.

"Hey, what were you thinking about there? I've been trying to get your attention for the last couple of minutes." She looks at me curiously, with a worried frown upon her face. "Are you alright, you're all pale all of a sudden." She makes a move to lay a hand on my forehead, as if to see if I was ill or something, but I quickly pull out of reach.

"No, I'm alright. Really! But I just remembered that it's late, and I should really be heading home." I scramble off of the couch and look around for my jacket. I should've known that this wouldn't be a good idea. I had thought I could be friends with her, but I was only fooling myself. There's no way I could be around her and not want something more. And to top it off, I already had a girlfriend and this wasn't fair to her. What was I thinking? Stupid! Stupid!

"Um, okay than. I'm sorry to see you leave, but it's really been fun hanging out again. We never really did this kind of thing when we were dating." She said as she hands me my jacket. She smiles meekly at me, and I know she's wondering why I'm all of a sudden acting so weird.

"Thanks! I'm glad we did this too, but I've really got to go. I'll see you around." As we reach the door I reach out and pull her into a hug. What was intended to be a quick embrace, turned into a longer one. I could smell the shampoo she used and the fragrance was intoxicating and I just didn't want to let go just yet. I quickly release her, waved good bye and practically ran out the door. Once again I was mentally kicking myself for being such an idiot.

I, Lucas Scott, could not possibly be falling for Brooke Davis. Not again! We'd already been through that. We'd already had our chance, and I ruined it. Now, we're finally friends, and that's what I wanted. Wasn't it? Boy, when did life get so complicated? Just when I thought I was finally able to move on, this happens. What am I suppose to do?

As I'm walking down the street towards my house, lost in thought, I hear my phone ring. I reach in to pick it up, flipped it open to check the caller ID, and for a quick second hoped it would be Brooke's name that flashed but it wasn't. It was my girlfriends number, and I quickly crash back to reality. I take a deep breath and hit talk on my phone.

"Hey Anna!"

**A/N: Hey guys, just had this idea for a new fic and couldn't resist writing it. I know it's a little different from the Brooke we see on television, but I wanted to discover a new side to her. She'll still be fun and outgoing, but I wanted to bring a deeper and more sensitive side to her also. Lucas is dating Anna, just like in the show and Brooke is also dating Felix, but they're not "friends with benefits" they're girlfriend/boyfriend. Don't worry, it'll end up being a Brucas, it's just going to take some chapters before that happens. And in my story, although Felix is still cocky, he's going to be really good for Brooke. So he'll have a sensitive side. Anyway, I hope you read it and like it, if not sorry, and if you do please review. I write because people read, so if you don't like it and don't review it, I'll stop writing it. Thanks! **


	2. Breaking Up is Hard to Do

I was putting my books away in my locker at the end of the school day when I felt her approaching. Its funny how, even though there were hundreds of other girls in this school, I could still tell when it was her. Maybe it was her scent, or maybe it was just her presence, but whatever it was, it could only mean trouble for me.

"Hey handsome!" She leaned against the locker next to mine and smiled up at me. "How were classes today?"

"Hey yourself. Can't complain, algebra was painful but nothing a little extra studying won't help." I close my locker door and turn to face her, a smile gracing my face. I can't help but smile when I'm around her. And who could blame me? Brooke had always been able to light up a room with just a smile. "How bout yourself?"

She shrugged her shoulders in answer as she adjusted the backpack she was carrying. "You know me, can't say I'm the most studious of students, but I get by."

I laugh at her remark because I knew she was only joking. Sometimes I think Brooke liked playing the roll of dumb cheerleader more than she did of just being herself and showing people who she really was. I remember asking her why she acted the way she did once and she told me that it was easier being a stereotypical cheerleader than it was being herself. She said it was simpler letting people perceive you a certain way than trying to convince them you weren't that girl. She had said that if people liked her than they did but if not than so be it. One of the things I loved about her was the fact that she didn't take any bull from people.

I start to comment on her remark when I see Felix come from around the corner and approach us. The sight of him made me want to hurl. The guy was a piece of work. He was cocky, arrogant, and a sorry excuse for a human being. The guy just made me sick, plain and simple.

"Hey baby," he said as he puts an arm around Brooke's shoulder and kisses her on her forehead "Lucas."

"Felix," I return, but can't help the look of disgust that forms on my face at seeing his arms around her shoulders. Brooke deserved better than him. I had no idea why they were together, but what can I do?

"You ready to go?" He asks her as he starts to pull her away from the locker she had been leaning on, without even waiting for her reply, may I add. Talk about class, or lack there of in this case.

"Yeah, see you later Luke, Friday night? My house?" She asked me quickly as Felix leads her away. I know she's referring to our movie night at her place. It was something we started doing when we became friends again. Sort of that step to start building a relationship with one another again.

"Friday, right, see you then." I yell out to her and as they turn the corner I can see her look back at me offering a smile in apology. I sigh deeply and turn to leave myself when I feel a hand snake around my waste. For a minute it caught me by surprise, but I quickly force a smile on my face as I turn to greet her. "Hey Anna!" I turn to her smiling face.

"Hey you, did you miss me?" She links her hand around my back and pulls me in for a kiss.

"Hmm, let me think about that for a second," I put a finer up to my chin, pretending to be in deep thought.

"Hey" She hits me in the arm.

"Yes, yes I did miss you. Although, I did just see you not half an hour ago in the janitors closet if I'm not mistaken." I look down at her and can't help but feel guilty. Guilty for what? I'm still not sure. It's not like I'm cheating on her or anything. But does thinking about somebody else constitute at cheating? If it does, than yes, I'm as guilty as can be.

"That you did. So, what's going on for this Friday? What are we doing?" She ask as we make our way out of the school and towards the parking lot.

"Friday? You know I'm hanging with Brooke that night. We can do something Saturday though, what about that?" As we approach her car we stop and she turns to look at me. I can already tell she's not happy about the idea of me hanging out with Brooke alone. But than again, what girl would be happy about their boyfriend spending time with their ex?

"Brooke? Again? I hope you're not forgetting that you have a girlfriend Luke." She says with a frown.

"We've already been through this Anna. This is something Brooke and I have been doing since before you came into the picture. I thought you said you didn't mind." I hate having this same conversation week after week with her.

"I know that, but I just thought that it would change once we started getting serious. And besides, I don't trust her." She crosses her arms over her chest protectively. A sign that she's getting angrier. I didn't like how she said "her" with such contempt and animosity though. I've never heard Anna talk this way before.

"Anna, it's not like we're doing anything wrong. We're friends, that's it. I told you how it was when we got together. I explained to you the circumstances surrounding this relationship because I wanted to make sure you would be okay with everything before we got serious. And as I understood it at the time, you said you were fine. So why must we have this conversation week in and week out?" I run a frustrated hand through my hair. I hated when she got all jealous and over possessive. It drove me crazy.

"And I was fine, at that time," she emphasized "but Luke, you have a girlfriend, me, and you can't blame me for wanting to spend time with my boyfriend." She looks up and gives me a hurt look and I feel all the energy drain from me.

"You are my girlfriend Anna, and we spend every other waking minute together, just one night a week we spend apart. It's like you don't trust me or anything, and if that's the case, than maybe we shouldn't be together." I can see the look of shock on her face as I say that last part. I don't blame her for being shocked because I was too. I hadn't meant to say it, it just came out. Before I can say anything else and apologize to her, I can see that her eyes were already tearing up, and she quickly gets into her car and speeds out of the parking lot.

I stand there, alone in the parking lot, with my head hung low in defeat. I feel horrible about what I had just said, but at the same time relieved. I couldn't deal with her jealousy anymore. It was driving me up the wall. I can't be with someone who doesn't trust me. I like Anna a lot, she was a sweet girl, she was beautiful, but she wasn't making me happy. Not the happy I used to feel when I was with her. The one with the beautiful smile that set my heart to pounding each time she glanced my way. The one with the beautiful hazel eyes, that were like windows to her soul each time I looked into them. This was the right thing for me to do, I think.

As I turn towards my own car, I pull out my phone and dial that oh so familiar number. I wait for the person to pick up, and as I sit in my car, I hear her voice come over the line. "Hey, I'm sorry, do you mind if I come by?" I smile when she says yes.

**A/N: Hey everyone, thanks for the reviews. Just so you know, this whole story will be from Lucas' point of view. And as a recap, Anna's jealousy is getting to Lucas, and he uses that as a reason to call quits with her. Because he knows deep down his heart belongs to another girl. I'm not going to put Brucas together just yet. We need to give it sometime before that happens. Just to let wounds heal between Lucas and Anna, and it'll give me some time to break Felix and Brooke up. It'll have to do with Lucas coming to Brooke's rescue. Let me know what you think! Reviews are always appreciated. **


	3. Missed Opportunities

I pulled up to her house and made my way to her door. I didn't really know why I was there, but she was the first person I thought of to call when that horrible incident with Anna occurred. So I guess I pretty much just went with my instincts. Before I could knock the door though it swung open and there she stood. The smile on her face immediately warmed my insides.

"Hey you, I was wondering how long you would be standing out here for." She stepped to the side to allow me into the house.

"Hi, thanks for letting me come over. I hope I wasn't interrupting anything." I stuffed my hands into my coat pocket, a little habit I do whenever I got nervous. And of course she caught on to it.

"No problem Lucas, come on." She reached over and grabbed my hand as she led me towards the living room. As we took our seat on the couch she started to massage my shoulders. And immediately the tension started to ease. "Wow Luke, you have had a rough day. Want to tell me what happened?"

"I'm still a little hazy on the facts myself. It happened so quickly. I guess it wasn't meant to be with us." I feel my head falling forward as my body continued to relax from her expert ministrations, but just as quickly as it started, it stopped.

"That's not true Luke. When two people really care for each other, they find a way to make it work. Maybe you and Anna haven't tried hard enough. There's got to be something else you could do." She leaned back against the cushions of the couch and tucked one leg under the other. "Do you care about her Luke? I mean really care about her?"

I lean my head back against the couch and shut my eyes as I try to form an answer to her questions. "Yes, I do care about Anna, very much. In the beginning anyway, but I can't deal with her insecurities about this relationship. I need her to trust me, and it seems she doesn't. I can't say that I blame her!" I admitted as I turned to look at her.

"Why do you say that? Have you cheated on her? Because if you did Lucas Scott, I'll personally kick your ass." She threatened as she sat up straighter from her position on the couch.

I had to laugh at her threat, which earned me a pretty powerful punch in the arm for such a small girl. "Ow, what was that for?" I asked as I rubbed the spot where she hit me.

"Well that one was for laughing at me, but this one is for being a jerk," she said as she laid another one on me "and this is for..." before she could get the words out I had already lunged at her in my attempt to grab her hands in mine to stop her from doing further damage. The next couple of minutes found us wrestling for control until I finally had her pinned to the floor.

I couldn't help but laugh at the indignant look on her face at being pinned. "Brooke, for such a tiny girl, you pack one hell of a punch. Now, before I let you go, you have to promise not to lay another one on me. Do you agree to my terms?" I watch as she tilts her head back and offers me a look of pure challenge.

"Yes, I agree to your terms." I watch as she nodded her head in agreement and must've missed the mischievous glint that came into her eyes when all of a sudden I found myself in a headlock. "Not!" She yelled as she started laughing uncontrollably.

"Oh, it's on now." Fortunate for me, she was on her knees so I was able to scoop her up from the position I was in and after a lot of grunting, was able to pick her up and body slam her on the couch. "And the champion of the WWF is the undefeated Lucas Scott." I started chanting as I raised my hand in victory. With the air knocked out of me from the exertion of the struggle, I crashed on top off her as I struggled to get my breathing back under control. "Wow, we haven't done that in a while."

"I know, it was fun." She agreed softly as the mood went from care-free and fun back to melancholy. "I've missed this Luke. You and me doing stuff like this." She gestured with her hands back and forth between me and her.

"Yeah, me too. When did our lives get so complicated?" I asked as I played with a hand that was now resting on my lap.

"When we got into relationships." She said solemnly. "So, what are you going to do about Anna? Are you going to try to talk to her?"

"I'm not sure. It ended kind of badly..." I raked a hand through my hair "I was an ass B. It shouldn't have ended the way it did. Now I don't know what to do."

"Go talk to her silly boy. Try to work things out, or at least get some closure out of it. Wait a minute, why again did you guys break up?" She raised her brow in inquiry.

"She got jealous when I told her we were hanging out Friday night."

"Jealous? Why? We've always hung out on Friday, I thought you said she was cool with it."

"She was, at first I guess."

"Well Lucas, I don't want to be the reason why you guys aren't working out. We don't have to hang out like this anymore if she's uncomfortable with it."

"But it shouldn't be this way Brooke. If she doesn't trust me enough to hang out with you without anything happening between us, than I can't be in a relationship like that." I looked into her beautiful hazel eyes, and can already see the retort forming before I cut her off. "I know what you're going to say. And I appreciate it, but whether it's me hanging out with you or with any other girl, this is always going to be a problem between me and her. It's just not going to work out."

"Okay Luke, it's your choice, but I think you should at least talk to her. At least try to work out a friendship, you guys have been dating awhile now, you don't want to lose what could potentially be a great friendship." She said as she ran a hand down my arm. I watched as her slender fingers travel down the length of my arm and reach my hands. I watched as she laced her fingers with mine and couldn't help but feel how right it felt to be here with her like this.

Here I am, just out of a relationship, sitting next to the only girl I wanted to be with. That's it, I have to tell her how I really feel. "Brooke, there's something I have to tell you."

"What's up Luke?" she asked me curiously.

"The real reason why I came here tonight is because..." before I could finish my sentence, a cell phone rang in the distance.

"Oh, that's my cell, but I can grab it later, go ahead, you were saying." She encouraged me to continue with a smile.

"No, that's okay, go pick it up, it could be important." I told her, as the nerve to tell her was now totally gone.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, go ahead, I'll be right here."

"Okay, let me grab it real quick, and I'll be right back." She ran and grabbed her phone from the other room and all I heard was "Hey baby, what's up?" Leave it to Felix to ruin the moment. I know I told her that I would stay where I was, but I couldn't stand to listen to them talk all lovey dovey with one another. Especially not when I was about to reveal how I really felt about her. Maybe this was a sign. Maybe I'm not supposed to tell her. Maybe...oh hell, I can't sit here and do this to myself, I gotta get out of here. I got up and put my jacket back on and made my way into the other room to tell her good-night.

"Hey Brooke, I'm going to head out. I'll talk to you later." I told her as I made my way to the front door to leave only to hear her call me back.

"Wait Luke, what were you going to tell me? It sounded important." She asked as she came to stand beside me at the door.

"It's nothing, we can talk later."

"Okay, if that's what you want. But listen Luke, I really think you should talk to Anna. I know I've already said it, but you should. Good night Lucas!" She leaned up to kiss me on my cheeks.

"I will B, don't worry! Thanks again for letting me come over. Now get back to your boyfriend before he gets jealous too." I told her as I try to force a light tone into my voice.

"Nah, he knows he's got nothing to worry about."

"Okay, bye!" As I make my way towards my car, I couldn't help but feel a heavy burden upon my heart. There was the girl I loved, who was within my reach, but she belongs to someone else. As I got into the car, I could feel a piece of my heart chip away.


	4. I Still Believe

"_You know, I've never given a rats ass about anyone before"_

Lucas sat staring out at the river. He recalled when Brooke had told him that, and how vulnerable she was when she admitted her feelings to him. He knew that it must've been hard for her to tell him those things. How he wished he could turn back time and erase all the things he did to hurt her. That way they could still be together now. But that wasn't to be. He had gotten so close to confessing his feelings to her the other night, that was until Felix had called. So deep he was in his own thoughts that he didn't notice the figure that was approaching him.

"I thought I might find you here."

Lucas turned to find Anna coming towards him. He hadn't expected to see her anytime soon, especially not after the way he had behaved towards her.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" He asked her as she took a seat next to him on the bench.

"I thought we could talk. After what happened yesterday in the parking lot, and having some time to cool off, thought maybe this was a good a time as any." She said with a shrug.

"Yeah, about that, listen Anna, I'm really sorry for bursting out the way I did. It wasn't suppose to come out that way." Lucas turned to look at her, trying to gauge her response.

"Than what did you mean by it Luke? What happened exactly?"

"Look Anna, I really like you..." He began, getting off of the bench feeling a bit restless and started to pace in front of her "and I thought it could be more, but somewhere along the line that feeling got lost."

"Is it because of her?" As Lucas started to deny the question, she interrupted him. "Before you say no to that Luke, because I know that's what you were about to do, remember that we've never lied to each other, so don't start now."

Lucas took a deep breath, hesitating to answer the question. He knew it would be best to just tell her the truth, but he didn't want to do any further damage, and in a way he wasn't ready to admit what he felt for Brooke out loud just yet. At least, not before he had a chance to tell the object of his affections himself. But Anna was right, they had prided their relationship on honesty, and it would be dumb to start lying now. "I won't deny that she had something to do with it Anna, but she's not the only reason. I just think you and I would be better off as friends. And I hope you feel the same way. I don't know what else to say." Lucas runs a hand through his hair in relief, glad that he finally got the words out to express how he felt to her.

Anna now also gets up off the bench, unable to sit there anymore, now seeing that the conversation wasn't going where she had hoped it would. She had come there hoping that her and Lucas could work something out. Hoping that they could give there relationship another shot. Hoping that she would be able to make him see that they could be good together. But now it just didn't seem to be the case. So she would settle for what was best. She would rather have him as a friend than to not have him at all. In a town where she knew few people, it would be stupid to ruin the relationships that she had been able to form, and that started with Lucas.

"I guess there's not much more to say Lucas. Apparently you have your mind made up. I had hoped to talk you into giving us another chance, but if your heart isn't there, than what's the point. But I guess I'd rather us be friends than nothing at all."

Lucas took a breath of relief, glad that she was taking this better than he had expected. The last time he had broken up with a girl, Brooke, she had left crying. He reached over and grabbed Anna in an embrace. "Thank you Anna, you don't know how much this means to me."

Anna hugs Lucas a little tighter, taking in his warmth and scent. It would be something she would miss greatly. The feeling of being in his arms! "I hope you find whatever you're looking for Luke, you deserve to." She leans back from his arms and places a kiss on his cheek, than turns to leave.

Lucas watches her retreating form, lost in thought once again. He was glad that they were able to end the relationship with a friendship at least. Anna was indeed a special girl. He was just sad that he couldn't return what she felt himself. He went and retrieved his basketball that was forgotten on the grass. As he made his way home, he couldn't help but smile. Now all he had to do was show Brooke that they were supposed to be together. All he had to do was show her once again how much they needed each other. As long as there was hope, there was a chance. He just hoped he wasn't too late. Just when he was about to take the turn towards his house, he decided to go in the opposite direction.

Brooke was in her room, trying to study for an upcoming history test the next day, but her mind just wasn't committed to the task. It kept on wandering to other things. One of the things in particular was Lucas. After he had left here yesterday in such a rush, she couldn't help but wonder what it was that he had been about to tell her. She thought he had been acting rather strange around her lately, and she couldn't put a finger on what exactly it was. Just than, a song came on her radio, one of her favorites, though she didn't like the artist, she loved the song. It was Mariah Carey's "I Still Believe."

She started singing along to the song, and tapping her pen against her notebook in rhythm to the tune. She was so lost in the song that she didn't hear the knock on her door.

"Can I have this dance?" Brooke turned to see a smiling Lucas leaning against her door with a white rose in his hands. "A beautiful rose for a beautiful girl." Lucas walked into the room and came to stand beside her at her desk, offering her his hand.

Brooke reached out and took his proffered hand, and the rose that was extended to her. She looked up at him with a confused look and a smile as they started swaying to the music. "Not that I'm not glad to see you Luke, but what are you doing here? And why the flower?"

"Shh B, let's just enjoy the song for now okay? I'll explain everything later. Right now I just want to dance with you, okay?" Lucas pulled her closer to his body, relishing the feel of her in his arms again. He knew it was wrong, and he knew she had a boyfriend, but he just wanted to feel her in his arms again, even if it was just for a moment. He placed his chin atop her head, and inhaled her scent.

_You look in my eyes_

_And I get emotional inside_

_I know it's crazy but_

_You still can touch my heart _

_And after all this time_

_You think that I wouldn't feel the same_

_But time has done nothing_

_Nothing's change_

_I still believe _

_Someday you and me_

_Will find ourselves in love again_

_I had a dream_

_Someday you and me_

_Will find ourselves in love again_

_Each day of my life_

_I'm filled with all the joys I can find_

_You know that I_

_I'm not the desperate type_

_If there's one spark of hope_

_Left in my grasp_

_I'll hold it with both hands_

_It's worth the burning_

_To have a second chance_

_I still believe that we can be together_

_If we believe that true love_

_Never has to end_

_Than we mush know that we will love again_

_I still believe _

_Someday you and me_

_Will find ourselves _

_In love again_

As the song came to an end, Lucas leaned back and looked into her eyes. "Do you still believe Brooke?"

Brooke wasn't sure what he meant by the question. Heck, she was confused by the whole situation. She had no idea what was going on in his head. "Believe what Luke? What's going on?"

"Do you still believe that people who are meant to be together will find their way in the end?" He asked her seriously. It was something that she had once said to him while they were dating. The day before his mom was due back from Italy. They had been walking back from getting coffee when she had told him that.

"Why are you asking me this all of a sudden Luke? Where are you going with this?" Brooke asked, still not understanding the situation.

Lucas took a deep breath and let it out again. He knew he was confusing her, but he didn't want to tell her the reason until she answered the question. "Please Brooke, just answer my question, and than I'll answer yours. I just need to know if you still believe that."

"Yeah, I still do believe it."

"Do you still give a rats ass about me?" He went on to ask.

"What are you getting at Lucas?"

"Please, just answer the question." He encouraged.

"Yeah, I still care about you. But why are you asking me this now?"

Lucas released her from his arms and reached up to cup her face in his hands. "Because, Brooke Davis, I am still very much in love with you!" There, he said it. Now he just had to brace himself for her reaction.

"You're what?" She asked, shocked by his admission.

"I love you!" He repeated.

"That's what I thought you said," she pulled out of his arms, running a hand through her hair "I just don't know how to respond to that. I just... how is this happening all of a sudden?"

"It's not all of a sudden. I've just finally built up the nerves to tell you." Lucas told her as he stuffed his hand in his pockets, unsure of what to do next. He hadn't expected this kind of a response from her. Heck, he wasn't sure what kind of a response he expected.

"Wow...wow! I don't know what to say Luke. I mean, what am I suppose to say? I have a boyfriend." She started to rambling and pacing the room.

"You don't have to say anything, I just wanted you to know. I needed you to know Brooke. I couldn't go on just pretending to be friends anymore, not when I wanted more."

"Dammit Lucas, this is not fair, you can't do this to me. You can't keep yanking me back and forth like this." She started yelling.

"I know, I'm sorry. Look, I know you have a boyfriend and I know this isn't exactly perfect timing." He tried to reach for her and calm her down, but she evaded his touch.

"Damn right this isn't the time for this. You know what? I can't do this right now, you have to go. I have to think. And I can't do that with you here." She said as she started pushing him towards the door.

Lucas was surprised that she was actually kicking him out. He hadn't expected this. When they got to the door, he grabbed the edges of it and stopped her from pushing him all the way out. He turned around to look at her once more, and could see the pained look on her face. "Brooke, I'm sorry. Will you just listen for a minute?" He yelled when she wouldn't cease her attempts to push him out. Finally she stopped and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Look, I had to tell you. I had to stop pretending everything was okay between us. I couldn't go on watching you with Felix and acting like I was okay with it. Not when the jealousy was eating at me where it got to the point where all I wanted to do was smash his face in everytime he had his arms around you." This brought a reluctant smile to her face and jumped on that smile. "Not when I wanted it to be me that had his arms around you. I want it to be us Brooke, not me and Anna, not you and Felix, but Broody and Cheery, the way it use to be." He stopped to gauge what her reaction was thus far and he could see that she was starting to let his words seep in.

"I want it to be us again B. That's all! Just think about it okay?" He reached over and attempted to touch her, but let his arms fall back to his side when she took a defiant step back. "Just think about it." With that, he turned and left the house with his hands in his pockets and his head hung low.

Brooke watched his retreating back disappear out of sight before she closed her door. As she leaned her head against the hard wood, she felt a tear fall as she took a shuddering breath. And she whispered to the empty room _"I love you too Lucas, I just don't know what to do about it."_


	5. Felix Makes His Entrance

Brooke sat at the ledge on her window, gazing out into the sky. The stars were twinkling bright and a full moon graced the twilight sky. She sat there mulling over the events of the past couple of days wondering what she was going to do. Just when she had finally thought she was over him, he had to go and pull a stunt like the night before. How could he do this to her? Brooke ran a frustrated hand through her hair as she took a deep breath.

"Hey, what ya looking at queenie?" Felix asked as he walked towards her.

Brooke watched as he sat next to her and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I told you never to call me that." She said as she punched him in the arm. "But to answer your question, I was just looking at the stars. It's a beautiful night." She turned and pointed toward the sky.

"Not as beautiful as the girl sitting next to me." Felix leaned over and gathered her in his arms. He loved the feel of her there. It was almost as if she was born to be in his arms. He always thought of them as two puzzle pieces that perfectly fit one another. "What's going on Brooke? You've been really distracted these last couple of days."

Brooke leaned her head back against his shoulder and closed her eyes. She didn't know what to tell him, hell, she didn't know what to tell herself at this point. "Nothing. At least not yet. I've just got a couple of things on my mind, you needn't worry yourself over it." It was the only answer she could give him that wasn't a lie. And lying was something she didn't want to have to do with him.

Felix reached his hand up to brush her hair behind her ear so he could lean his cheek alongside hers. "Brooke, you know I can't make you tell me whatever it is that's going through your head right now, but what I can tell you is that I'm here for you."

"I know! I know!" She hugged his arm closer around her body as she took in his warmth. They sat there for the next couple of minutes, just staring out into the night. Brooke couldn't believe how far her and Felix had come since there first encounter, and she couldn't help but laugh at the memory of finding him swimming naked in her pool.

"Care to share the joke?" He asked her with a slightly amused tone.

"I was just thinking of the first time we met. Do you remember that?" She asked as she turned her body to the side so that she could see his expression. She made sure she didn't move too much, she still wanted to be in his arms.

"Ah, you mean when I swam naked in your pool? Hey, what can I say, I know how to make a first impression." A tender smile appeared on his face as he too recalled that first encounter. He remembered, even though she had just woken up, thinking how beautiful she was.

"An impression, yes, but a good one? I think not." She told him smugly.

"Wait, what? You mean you didn't like what you saw?" He asked in mock surprise.

"Well, I liked what I saw from head to waist, but..." she glanced down at a spot below his waist and lifted an eyebrow up suggestively "below that, you sure didn't have much to brag about." She finished, trying to keep a straight face, and it was hard to do, especially when she saw the flush that was creeping up from his collar bone to his cheeks.

"Brooke!" He gasped indignantly. "The water was cold, it's not my fault." Upon hearing that, Brooke couldn't contain her laughter anymore, and burst out laughing uproariously. She loved teasing him because his reaction was always so comical. "Oh, I'll teach you to mess with me queenie." With that he proceeded to lifting her over his shoulder and started marching out the house.

"Felix! Felix! Put me down this instant." She demanded a bit out of breath. Her ribs were hurting so much from the laughing, and now from the shoulder blade that was jutting into her side. She turned to see where he was taking her and saw the pool come into sight. "You wouldn't dare!" Which just resulted in more laughter from him. "Okay, okay Felix. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. Please!" She started begging.

"Now you're sorry? Well it's too late for you little girl, maybe next time you'll learn to think before opening your mouth." Felix said as they got closer to the pool. "Don't forget to take a deep breath." He warned her before lifting her off his shoulder. "Any last requests?" He turned his head to look at her, one brow raised cockily.

Since begging didn't work, threatening physical violence was the next best thing to Brooke. "If you dare to throw me in that freezing water, you can forget ever..." she didn't get to finish her sentence. The next thing she knew she was plunging head first into the freezing water, and all she got was a mouthful of chlorine.

Felix stood on the side of the pool laughing his head off. The look on her face before she went under was classic. He wished he'd had a camera for it, it was definitely a Kodak moment. He was hunched over hugging his sides and didn't see the hand that snaked out of the pool to pull him in. Before he could stop it from laughing, he too was dumped into the cold water. That started the beginning of a water war that lasted a good half an hour.

An hour later found them back in Brooke's room drying off. Felix was in the bathroom changing out of his wet clothes and when he came out he found Brooke seated on her bed staring at her doll house.

"Tell me again why you bought this house back for me?" She asked him as he seated himself next to her, a towel draped over his shoulders.

"Because I was trying to buy your affections?"

"No, I'm being serious here. Tell me why. Please, I need to know." Brooke turned serious eyes his way. And he could tell this was important to her.

"I saw how much it meant to you that day, and with everything that was happening to you, I thought maybe I could give you something of yourself back." He told her truthfully.

"But how come you had Mouth give it to me, and let him take the credit for it?" Brooke gazed intently at him, she needed to know what he was feeling, what he felt.

"You and I weren't exactly on the best of terms. I mean, come on, we were "friends with benefits" and even then it wasn't about the friends, but the benefits that made you even look at me. And besides, you wouldn't have believed I bought it back for you anyway. You would've thought I had some type of ulterior motive or something. So I didn't see the point in telling you. I figured you would accept it back from a friend, and that's why I asked Mouth to stand in." Felix hated talking about this. He didn't like rehashing what kind of a relationship they had prior to what they had now. His past attitude wasn't something he was proud of.

Brooke laid a hand on the side of his face, and he turned it into her hand as he closed his eyes. She lightly caressed the hair at the side of his temple with her fingers. "I know I've told you this before, but thank you. That doll house meant a lot to me."

"I know!" He pulled her close to him and kissed her passionately. Breath mingled with breath as the kiss grew more and more heated, a deep groan rumbled low in his throat when he felt her mold her body against his. She laced her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist as he lifted her up to place her in the middle of the bed. He broke the kiss and hovered above her only to whisper "I would do anything to put a smile on your face, I hope you know that."

As he started to trail kisses along the side of her neck, Brooke closed her eyes as she enjoyed the sensations of tingles along the side of her body that his touch invoked. So lost were they in their love making that they didn't here the cell phone that rang in the distant.

****

_**A/N: Okay, just to get everybody up to date here. Lucas has broken up with Anna, because he realized he wanted Brooke. He has also admitted his feelings to her. Brooke is confused. She has a boyfriend, Felix, whom she cares about very much. Now she has to figure out what to do. Felix is in love with Brooke, although he hasn't told her yet. That's just a brief summary of what's going on in the tangled web. **_

**_A/N 2: Okay guys, now this is where you come in. I originally started this story out as a Brucas, and will continue to turn it into that, if you want me to. I'm really starting to like the story that's unfolding between Felix and Brooke. But I'll let you, my readers, be the judge of couples. Let me know who you want, because at this point, I could go for either one. Naley will be making an appearance in the next couple of chapters, so for all you Naley fans, hang tight. Thanks for all the reviews, it means the world to a writer, and as always, please let me know what you think. _**

_**PS: Also, I had a reviewer who didn't like the fact that I misspelled cliques in the first chapter, if you're reading this, I just wanted to say thanks for catching that. And I'm not mad that you were bugged by it, I would be too. As always, I'm looking for ways to improve my writing, so if you find something wrong, don't be afraid to tell me. Thanks again! **_

_**Enjoy!!!!!**_


	6. Together with Friends

It was the end of the school day and practices were cancelled, Brooke was headed towards her car when she saw Lucas ahead of her. She stopped in her tracks, hesitating to call out to him. They hadn't spoken since the night of his confession. He had called her a couple of times, but she had avoided calling him back. She knew what she was doing was wrong, but she wasn't sure what to say to him. Just when she was about to turn and go in the other direction, he turned to look over his shoulder and caught sight of her. She watched as he stopped in midstride and fully turned to face her. Well, too late for an easy escape she thought as she squared her shoulders and walked toward him. An easy smile fixed on her face.

"Hey Luke!" She said as she came to a stop in front of him.

"Brooke," Lucas looked down at her and could see the nervousness on her face. "Awkward huh?"

"Us? Awkward? Never!" She joked and was glad it got a chuckle out of him because the tension was killing her. "Listen Luke," she placed a hand on his arm and watched as his gaze followed her movement "I'm sorry I haven't returned your calls, it's just been a weird situation, and I just needed some time to think things over." She let her hands fall off his arm as she shifted her backpack on her shoulder.

"Okay, I can understand that. Look, I've had a chance to think things over too. I know I put you in an uncomfortable position when I told you how I felt, but I had to. I had to see if there was a chance, and if there isn't, than I can at least say I gave it a shot. I know you're with Felix now, I get that, but you can't tell me there isn't something there between us." Lucas averted his gaze so that he was looking anywhere but directly at her.

Brooke raised her hand up so that she could turn his face back toward hers. "I'm not going to lie to you Lucas and deny that there is something there. I'm just not sure it's something I want to pursue at this point in time. You're right, I do have a boyfriend, and it would be unfair of me to break up with him just because there's a chance for us. I can't and won't do that, he deserves a chance too. We had ours, and look how that ended up." Brooke tore her gaze away from his, she couldn't stand to see the hurt that entered into them at hearing her words. "I love you Lucas, I always have and probably always will. I'm just not ready to let you in my heart again. Not now anyway. I'm sorry, I hope you can understand." With that, she leaned up and kissed him softly on his cheek before turning to leave.

Lucas watched her as she walked away from him. The girl that had haunted so many of his nights! The girl who held his heart captive in her hands! He watched as she took one last look at him over her shoulders before pushing her way through the school doors. "I understand Brooke, but I'm not giving up on us. I lost you once, and I'll be damned if I let myself lose you again." He vowed into the empty hallway as he too started to make his way outside.

"Peyton!" Brooke called out as she entered her friend's house. "Hey, Goldilocks, where you at?" She made her way towards the bedroom and found her friend seated at her computer sketch book in hand and headphones on. Brooke rolled her eyes as she walked up to her and tapped on her headphones. "Hello? Knock knock, anybody home in there?" She asked as she pulled the contraption off.

"Oh, hey Brooke, when'd you get here?" Peyton put down her sketch book and turned to look at her friend.

"Oh, I've been here for about five minutes and just so you know, while you were in here, oblivious to the outside world, I saw some guys walking away with some of your things." Brooke went to take a seat on Peyton's bed.

"What? Why didn't you stop them?" Peyton quickly jumped out of her chair and ran to the door only to stop abruptly when she heard Brooke laughing. "You're such a btch, you know that?"

"I know, but you love me for that. Anyway, I came to rescue you from your ultra boring life, so come on, let's go." Brooke quickly got off the bed and made her way toward where Peyton was standing. "Well, what are you waiting for? I said let's go." She said clapping her hand twice. "Chop chop!"

"One, my life is not boring, thank you very much, and two, where are we going? Aren't you supposed to be with your boyfriend or something?" Peyton walked back into her room and picked up her sketch book again, making no move to leave the house.

"Peyton, Peyton, Peyton, have I taught you nothing? Boyfriend does what I say, not the other way around. And besides, I wanted to hang out with my best friend." She grabbed Peyton by the arm and started dragging her off her chair, all the while pouting and pleading with her eyes. "You wouldn't dare say no to me would you?"

"The pouts not going to work on me Davis, that only work on the poor saps that come into contact with you." Peyton said chuckling to herself when the pouting immediately disappeared. "Alright, where are we going?" She grabbed her jacket and purse and walked out hand in hand with her friend.

"Well, Ms. Sunshine, first we're going to pick up Tutor-wife and rescue her from her husband, and than the three of us are having a girl's day, Brooke Davis style." She said perkily. Peyton never understood how Brooke could be so happy all the time. Sometimes she wondered how the two of them were such good friends. They were as different as night and day. But than she remembered when her mom had died, Brooke was there for her everyday. Making sure she was never alone. That was Brooke for you, she was devoted to the people she cared for. With that thought in mind, she hugged Brooke just a little tighter and smiled when her friend arched an eyebrow her way.

They arrived at Nathan and Haley's place in Brooke's car and made their way to the front door. Before either one could knock, Haley came storming out of the house and slammed the door behind her.

"Um, hi?" Both girls said simultaneously, unsure of what was going on.

"Oh, hey guys, what's up?" Haley asked distractedly as she rummaged through her purse looking for something.

"Well, we could ask you the same thing. Everything alright Hales?" Peyton asked.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Well, for one, you seem a little distracted, and two, you just stormed out of your house like a madman, so we're just a little curious as to why. Everything okay in Newlywed world?" Brooke asked.

"Fine! Everything's fine. Urggh..." Haley finally threw her hands in the air in frustration and covered her face as her shoulders started to shake in uncontrollable sobs "Nathan's mom is such a btch. I can't stand that woman." She said in between breaths. "It's like, every time I think I've made some progress with her, I'm proven wrong again. She still blames me for ruining her son's life."

Peyton and Brooke looked at each other uncomfortably. Neither one knowing what to do! Brooke finally reached out a hand and started to rub Haley's back, in an attempt to calm the crying girl down. "Shh, it's okay Hales. You know it's not true, his mom's just pissed off and who could blame her, look who's she got for a husband. She'll come around."

Peyton stuffed her hand in her pocket and shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah Hales, don't let that she-devil get to you. Forget about her."

Haley finally stopped crying and wiped away the remaining tears in her eyes. "Yeah, I guess you guys are right. I shouldn't let her get to me. She's not worth it. Thanks guys!" She reached up and squeezed both their hands in gratitude and smiled a thanks when Peyton handed her a tissue. After she had pulled herself together she offered both girls a watery smile. "So, what are you guys doing here? You never answered my question."

"Well, now seems a good a time as any. We came here to abduct you from your husband, and it looks like the timings perfect. We're having a girl's day, Davis style." This got a laugh out of Haley. The last time they had an outing Brooke Davis style, it was for Haley's bachelorette party, and they had ended up doing dirty dishes at the end of the night.

"Um, should I be scared at that suggestion, or should I save myself the trouble and bring along my scrubbing gloves?"

"Hey, it's not my fault my stupid parents went and got broke. Anyway, don't worry, what we're doing won't require money." This got a lifting of eyebrows from both Haley and Peyton as they looked at her.

"An outing with Brooke Davis that doesn't require spending tons of money? This, I gotta see." Peyton joked as all three girls made their way to Brooke's car.

"Survival of the fittest Babe. Just because I'm poor now, doesn't mean I still can't have fun." Brooke offered as they got into her car. "And besides, who says you gotta have money to have fun?"

"Um, you?" Peyton shot back as she took her seat in the front passenger seat.

"Ha ha P. Sawyer. Well, let's get the party started girlies, hang on tight cause it's gonna be a bumpy ride."

"That's so corny Brooke!" Haley laughed from the backseat as Brooke shot her a devious look from the rear view mirror.

As they started to drive off, Peyton said "Hey, maybe we should make this a foursome and ask Anna to come along. She doesn't know anybody here, and I'm sure she'll have fun tagging along."

Brooke felt her heart stop for a second. She didn't hate Anna, but she wasn't completely fond of her either. Although she was her boyfriend's sister, the girl just rubbed her the wrong way. And she wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea of bringing along Lucas' ex-girlfriend out with them. She wasn't sure what Lucas had said to her when they broke up, but if her name had been mentioned at all, it would just be way too awkward. Before she could protest to the idea, Haley had already second the motion.

"Yeah, let's ask Anna to come. The more the merrier, right Tigger?" Brooke swore softly under her breath. This is gonna be cozy she thought as she took the turn to Felix's house.

"Sure Hales, the more the merrier." This brought a smile to both Peyton's and Haley's face, and all Brooke could do was force one on hers.

A/N: Hey guys, thanks for all the great reviews. I'm getting mixed ideas about what to do between Lucas, Brooke and Felix, so I'm just going to stick to my original plan and end it with a Brucas. But not before Lucas suffers a little. So to all you die hard Brucas fans, you won't be sorry! Just a few more chapters and your wishes will come true. And besides, since the WB seems to adamant about putting them together, the least I can do is make it happen in my story.

A/N 2: This chapter was an attempt to lighten up the story a little bit. I wanted to have a little more interaction between the girls. And Anna's only being brought into it to add on that edge. The next chapter will be a fun chapter. Fun for the girls, fun for Brooke Felix, and bonding between the Scott brothers. So stay tuned. As always, I look forward to hearing your suggestions on making this story better. So keep the reviews coming. Thanks! Hope you enjoy this chapter, if not, sorry! I'll do better with the next one!


	7. Fun Day Ruined

Brooke pulled the car up to Anna's house and watched as Peyton jumped out of the car. She didn't think her best friend would be this excited to see the new girl. She watched as Peyton rang the doorbell and waited for Anna to come out. She watched as the two girls embraced one another and made their way towards the car. Brooke's gaze traveled to the linked arms and couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy at how close Peyton and Anna seem to be after such a brief period of friend. Brooke felt like she was losing her best friend again. First it was to Lucas, now it was to ex.

"Whoa there Tigger, I would hate to be the unfortunate soul that murderous look is directed at." Haley had watched Brooke's facial expressions change from dazed to downright dislike in the span of a couple of minutes. "Look Brooke, I know it must be uncomfortable hanging out with Lucas' new girl, what with your past history with him and all, but give her a chance. She's probably not so bad once you get to know her. Peyton seems to like her a lot." Haley pointed to the two laughing girls outside of the car.

Apparently Lucas hadn't told Haley yet that he and Anna were no longer a couple. Brooke was sure that Haley would know by now. Them being best friends and all! Boy, this is going to be more awkward than I thought, Brooke thought to herself as she placed a smile on her face when Peyton and Anna entered the car.

"Hey guys, thanks for inviting me along." Anna took her seat next to Haley and offered her a smile. To Brooke she only offered a smirk.

Brooke caught the look that Anna gave her through the rear view mirror and mumbled btch under her breath.

"Did you say something Brooke?" Peyton glanced curiously at her friend, surprised by her attitude.

"Who me? Nothing." She turned to look at Anna. "It's always fun to have my boyfriends sister and ex-boyfriends whatever you are to him along." With that, she turned back and shifted her car into drive.

Before long they arrived at their destination, a lingerie shop. To the confusion of the other girls in the car, who were all wondering what they were doing there. Brooke parked her car and quickly got out before the others and strode confidently towards the shop. She turned and arched an eyebrow at her friends, indicating that they should follow suit.

"Brooke, what the hell are we doing here? Peyton asked, being the first to reach her.

"Well blondie, what do you think we're doing here? We're going to have fun trying on sexy lingerie." Brooke informed as if it was obvious. "And besides, I have a date with my boy-toy tonight, so I have to find something that'll make his tongue hit the floor."

"Can we please not talk about my brother like that? It's gross." Anna said with disgust.

"What? It's nothing you haven't heard before." Brooke said as the girls made their way into the store. "Now, Hales, I'm pretty sure you haven't bought anything sexy since the night of your bachelorette party, so we're working on you first. Gotta keep that husband of yours satisfied." Brooke laughed as Haley gave her the evil eye and stomped pass her. She knew Haley hated this sort of thing. The girl was just too serious sometimes. Now she can see why her and Lucas were such best friends.

As Haley and Peyton made there way into the dressing rooms, each with an outfit that Brooke had chosen for them, and each reluctant to try them on. But with much pleading and threatening from Brooke, they finally conceded. Unfortunately that left Brooke alone with Anna.

"So, spoken to Lucas lately?" Anna asked her from her seat by the dressing room.

Brooke, uncomfortable with the question, bought herself some time by pretending to search through a nearby rack, pretending like she hadn't heard the question.

"I know you can hear me Brooke, so don't play dumb. You know why he broke up with me." Anna stomped over to where Brooke was idly sorting through the rack of bras.

Brooke ceased her search and turned to look at Anna, her hands on her hips. "Okay, here's the deal new-girl, whatever has happened between you and Lucas, my ex, is none of my business. So if you're trying to point the blame finger at somebody because you guys didn't work out, point it somewhere else." This caused Anna's face to burn red with anger, and she took a threatening step closer to Brooke.

"Well, if it wasn't for you, we would still be together. So yeah, I'm going to blame you, unless you know any other Brooke Davis' in this god forsaken town."

Brooke wasn't one to back down from a fight, and the fact that Anna was practically breathing down her throat, only infuriated her more. "Sorry sweetie, there's only one of me, but I'll say this once and only once. Who Lucas chooses to date or not date, is his decision. He's a big boy and makes his own decisions. Maybe if you had a little more trust in him while you two were together, we wouldn't be having this conversations right now. So get out of my face!" With that Brooke stalked past her, but not before bumping her shoulders against Anna's.

Before Anna could retort, Peyton and Haley stepped out of their fitting rooms to show off their outfits.

"Wow, who knew a skinny blond and a drabby tutor girl could look so hot?" Brooke asked as she inspected their outfits and clapped her hands in excitement. "You guys so have to buy that. Hales, Nathan will fall to his knees the moment you put that on for him, and Peyt, even though you don't have a man right now, you can always where that in front of your web cam and give the cyber drones something to slobber about."

"You know, I'm not hating this. Who knew silk could be so sexy!" Haley said as she looked at her reflection. "Nathan would die if I wore this for him."

"Well, I'm not buying this, like you said, I have no one to wear it for." Peyton glanced sadly at her reflection.

"You know, we could always put you back on Lust Factor. Remember, the last time you were on you were like a 9.2 or something. And there were some cuties on." Brooke wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and laughed as Peyton gave her a disgusted look in the mirror. "Lighten up P.Sawyer."

"Hey, where's Anna?" Peyton glanced around the store and couldn't find her anywhere. "What did you do Brooke?"

"What? I didn't do anything. Is it my fault the girls got major issues?" Brooke shrugged her shoulders innocently. "And besides, what makes you think I did anything?"

"Because you were the only one out here with her and now she's disappeared. I thought this was supposed to be a fun day?"

"Well it was, until you asked new-girl to come." Brooke muttered.

Haley, sensing an argument, played peace maker. "Alright guys, let's just get dressed and get out of here. I think we've had enough excitement for a day. Come on Peyt, we'll find her." Haley dragged Peyton back into the fitting room before she could object.

Brooke sighed deeply and wondered how this day had turned out to be so depressing. All she wanted to do was have fun with her friends, and now their at each others throat for no reason. And all because of _her_, Brooke thought angrily. She couldn't believe her best friend was blaming her for Anna's problems. Like she didn't have enough to deal already! Between Felix, Lucas and Anna, Brooke was frustrated beyond belief.

She waited outside of the store for Peyton and Haley to join her, and as soon as they did, they set out to find Anna. Boy, the btch sure knew how to ruin her day, Brooke thought as they got into the car and set off in search of the missing girl.

**A/N: Okay, so I know this was supposed to be a fun chapter, but as I was writing it, I found that it was impossible for Brooke to have fun with Anna there. And, since I don't really like Anna's character, I wanted to make her look bad. I hope you all don't hate it too much. Please let me know what you think! Thanks! **


	8. Fight! Fight!

Lucas was sitting in his mom's café reading a book when his phone rang. He checked the caller ID to see who it was but the number was unavailable. "Hello?" He answered cautiously.

"Lucas? Lucas its Anna." Anna sobbed into the phone from a payphone booth.

"Anna? What's wrong, you sound upset." Lucas glanced worriedly into the phone, wondering what was going on.

"I need to see you Lucas, where are you?" Anna asked desperately.

"I'm at my mom's café; I'll wait for you here." Lucas hung up his phone after Anna said she would be there soon. As he sat waiting for Anna's arrival he saw Nathan walking through the doors. He was about to call out to him when he saw that he was already making his way towards his table.

"Hey, what's up man?" Nathan asked as he took a seat across from Lucas.

"Not much. What about you? Where's Hales?"

Nathan ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "She's out with Brooke and Peyton. Which is probably a good thing since Hales isn't too happy with me right now."

"Why? What happened?" Lucas was surprised by this revelation. Haley rarely got angry, but when she did, there was a good reason why.

"We got into a little tiff this morning with my mom when she called. She started going on about how we were ruining our lives again, and put the blame solely on Haley." Nathan looked beseechingly at Lucas. "What am I suppose to do man? It's like I'm caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand it's my mother, and on the flipside of that is my wife."

Lucas gave his brother a look of sympathy; he knew how hard it has been for them when it came to Deb. He could only shrug his shoulders helplessly as he said "I don't know what to tell you Nate, but I'm sure Haley's going to be fine. She probably just needed some time to cool off. And if she's with Brooke, than you can bet she'll be fine. Brooke has a way of loosening people up." Lucas smiled at the thought. He knew if there was one person who could make Haley feel better it would be Brooke. She's always had that innate ability to make a bad situation better. It was one of the things he loved most about her.

Nathan just sighed as he said "Yeah, I guess you're right. Anyway, what are you doing here?"

Before Lucas could open his mouth to answer he saw Anna storming through the doors and right at him. Nathan looked up in surprise at the angry girl standing in front of him.

"That...that...Btch! Of all the nerves..." Anna started saying as she poked Lucas in the arm.

Lucas stood up and grabbed Anna's hand, trying to calm her down. "Anna, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Brooke!" she screamed, catching the attention of the other customers in the café. "Who else would I be talking about?" Anna looked at him like he was dense for not figuring it out.

Nathan also stood up now, embarrassed at the attention that was now directed at their table. He cleared his throat in an attempt to get Lucas' and Anna's attention, and was grateful when Lucas glanced in his direction. "Hey, maybe we should take this outside, you know, away from the business your mom is trying to run?"

Lucas nodded in agreement and led the way out of the café. Nathan followed just in case his brother needed back up. Just when they got outside, they saw Brooke's car pull up in front and watched as Peyton jumped out of the still moving car.

"Anna!" She exclaimed as she ran up to the girl. "We've been looking all over for you, why'd you disappear like that?"

Anna, seeing the apology in Peyton's eyes, decided to use Peyton's friendship to her advantage. "Oh Peyton," she cried as she laid her head against her shoulder, pretending to cry, "She was being so mean to me. I didn't even do anything to her, and the next thing I knew, she was bad mouthing me and calling me all sorts of names." She burrowed her head deeper into Peyton's shirt, only to smile in triumph as Peyton's arms came up to embrace her.

Peyton was confused as to what she was talking about. "Who Anna? Who said what to you?" She asked as she started rubbing the crying girls back.

Anna lifted her head off of her shoulder to point an accusing finger at Brooke, who had just gotten out of the car and was walking towards them with Haley. "Her!" She said with fierce disgust.

"Brooke?" Peyton, Lucas and Nathan all turned and looked at Brooke, all amazed at the accusations. "Brooke is the cause of you crying?" Peyton turned back to Anna for confirmation.

"Yeah, we were all having such a nice time, and than you and Haley disappeared into the dressing room, and that was when she attacked me." Anna explained, trying to sound as pitiful as she could.

That caused Lucas' head to jerk up in confusion. Brooke would never do that, would she? He thought. Before he could say anything he heard Brooke's voice.

"I what?" Brooke couldn't believe what she was hearing. She and Haley had just reached the threesome when they heard the last part of Anna's comment.

"You attacked me. When we were in the store. Don't deny it because no one will believe you." Anna spat out.

"What the hell are you talking about? Why would I attack you? You're worth neither my time nor my energy." Brooke stood there, hands on her hips, amazed at the lies that were coming out of this girl's mouth.

"Because you're jealous of me, because I had Lucas and you didn't." Anna yelled, her hands balling into fists.

Lucas, hearing this, snapped out of his trance. Did he hear her right? Did she say Brooke was jealous? He couldn't help but feel a flutter of hope. "Wait a minute Anna. You and I broke up, so that means you don't have me either." Lucas turned his attention to her, amazed at the girl standing before him. In all the time they spent together, he had never seen this side of her before.

"And whose fault is that? I'll tell you, hers!" Anna pointed an accusing finger at Brooke once again.

"Wait a minute..." Haley totally confused with the situation "you guys broke up?" She turned to Lucas, waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, we did." He confirmed.

"When the hell did that happen?" Nathan, also trying to figure out what was going on asked as he went to stand beside Haley. He reached her side and smiled tentatively at her, trying to figure out what her mood was, and breathed a sigh of relief when she smiled back at him and reached for his hand.

"You know what? It doesn't matter when it happened, it happened, what I want to know is why Anna is accusing Brooke of attacking her." Peyton yelled, as she too was trying to figure out the problem.

Brooke, having had enough of the bologna that Anna was feeding everybody, marched up to stand in front of Anna's face and pointed a finger at her. "Look, I don't know what the hell your problem is, or what mental asylum you escaped out of, but enough is enough. I never attacked you, so this crock of bull you're trying to feed everybody to make me look like the bad guy, stops now. I will not be accused of doing something I didn't do."

Brooke was about to continue with what she wanted to say when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked over to see that it was Lucas, and she saw the pleading look in his eyes, asking her to stop, and with great reluctance she kept her mouth shut and started to turn away, when out of the corner of her eye, she saw a hand headed straight for her face. The next thing she knew she had a huge hand print on the side of her face. Everyone looked up in amazement and shock at Anna.

Lucas, shocked by what had just happened, quickly reached for Brooke. "Brooke, are you alright?" He asked as he saw the red mark that was beginning to form on her face.

"Anna, what the hell did you do that for?" Peyton screamed as she ran over to Brooke.

"Yeah, what the hell is your problem?" Haley asked as she released Nathan's hand and reached for Brooke's.

"It's because of you that I'm the way I am. Why couldn't you just stay the hell out of Lucas' life and let him be? Why the hell did you feel the need to hang out every weekend, taking his time away from me?" Anna stood there, tears running down her face, her hands balled up into fists once again, as she started shaking with pent up rage.

Brooke, recovering from the shock of the slap, brushed off everyone's hand, and charged Anna with her body. Her fist landed squarely against the side of her face. And she took pure enjoyment at the look of surprise on Anna's face. The next thing she knew, they were rolling on the ground, each throwing punches, and pulling hair. Anna's fist connected with the side of Brooke's shoulder, as Brooke's fist connected with her nose, causing blood to spurt out.

Lucas and Haley made a grab for Brooke at the same time Nathan and Peyton grabbed Anna. After a couple minutes of struggling they managed to separate the girls, but not before Brooke's foot connected with Anna's shins, causing her to scream out in pain.

Lucas held firm to Brooke's body against his. Afraid that if he eased up on his hold, she would attack again! He had never seen Brooke fight before, and from what he had just witnessed, he made a mental note never to get in a fight with her himself. For such a small girl, she packed a powerful punch. As was evident in the damage she made to Anna's face.

"You btch," Anna screamed "you broke my nose." She held her hand up to her face, trying to stop the blood that was pouring out.

Brooke jerked herself out of Lucas' arms, and started to walk menacingly towards Anna again, only to be stopped by Haley's hand on her arm. "She's not worth it Tigger!" Haley told her softly. Brooke nodded her head in assent and turned to glare at Anna, who was still being held by Nathan.

"You know, before I just thought you were stupid, but now I can see you're just pathetic. You're lucky your nose is the only thing I broke, and if you're smart, which at this point I doubt you are, I suggest you stay the hell away from me. And if I so much as hear you spreading another lie about me, rest assured I'll be breaking more than your nose." With that, Brooke stormed off towards her car. And for the first time she noticed the crowd that had gathered to watch the fight. And all she could do was shake her head in disgust. Her hand was bleeding, whether it was Anna's blood or her own she wasn't sure. All she wanted to do was get home, and put this whole nightmare behind her.

Lucas, who had been watching Brooke's retreat, turned his attention back to Anna. "I'm sorry if I hurt you Anna, and I thought we could be friends, but it doesn't look like that's going to be the case. Brooke is my friend and somebody I care about very much, so the next time you attempt to do anything that will cause her to be hurt, I promise I won't be there to pull her off of you." With that said, he raced off to catch up with Brooke, and reached her car before she could pull off.

Nathan finally released Anna from his grip, seeing as there was no more threat of violence, and just gave her a disgusted look. "That goes for me too. Next time this happens, instead of pulling you off, I'll stand by cheering Brooke on." Nathan walked over toward Haley and puts an arm around her shoulder, as he kisses the top of her head.

Haley wrapped her arms around his waist as she stood there shaking her head. "You know, Brooke was right about you all along. I can't believe I didn't listen to her when she said you were no good. Guess I just wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt. But believe me, that won't happen again. And to think I invited you into my home." With that said, Haley turned towards Nathan and said "Come on hubby, let's you take me home. I've had enough excitement for one day. Now I just want to spend some time with you!" Haley and Nathan turned and started to walk away, arm in arm.

Peyton watched as her friends left. She turned to Anna and offered her a handkerchief for her bloody nose, which she took gratefully. All Peyton could do was shake her head in disappointment at the sight before her. She had truly thought her and Anna could be friends. That's why she tried so hard to involve her in the things that she, Haley and Brooke did. But that wasn't to be.

"Haley's right, you know?" Anna raised an eyebrow in question. "I did give you the benefit of the doubt. I tried to include you in the things we did, like with the sleepover at Haley's, and this is how you show your gratitude? I knew you and Brooke weren't the best of friends, but I thought you two could at least find some common ground." Peyton stopped, and took a deep breath as she gazed around them. The crowd was beginning to disperse now that the excitement was over.

"Peyton I..." Anna started to say, but Peyton held up her hand to stop her before she could finish her sentence.

"No, don't say anything. Your actions speak for it self! And to think, I accused my best friend of wrong doing, when it was you all along. Believe me, it won't happen again. So I'll tell you this, the next time you try to cause trouble with Brooke, it won't be her breaking your nose, it'll be me. Stay the hell away from us!" With that, Peyton left a pathetic Anna standing alone to fend for herself.

A/N: Okay guys, I hope you like this chapter. I was on an Anna hating high, so I wanted to have Brooke kick her butt. Let me know what you think! Next up we'll have some Brucas time! Yay! But we haven't seen the last of Anna and her meddling ways. What will happen when she goes to her brother and tell him what Brooke did? Will this be the end of Felix and Brooke? You decide whether you want me to break them up now or later. Thanks!


	9. And Round Two Begins

Brooke sat on the edge of her bath tub as she watched Lucas tend to her wounds. Anna had managed to get in a couple of scrapes on her arm and she had some on her legs that she probably got when they hit the concrete sidewalk. She listened as he whispered sweet nothings while he applied the alcohol to the wounds. And she watched as he blew softly on it after the alcohol swabs were applied to take away the sting. She reached out and touched his cheek with her fingertips causing him to pause and glance up at her. She smiled softly at the worry that was etched all over his face.

"Did I hurt you?" He asked, glancing back down to make sure he wasn't putting too much pressure on the wounds.

"No, it doesn't hurt." She smiled at the look of relief that appeared on his face upon hearing her words. "Lucas…" she started hesitantly "you didn't believe anything Anna was saying did you?"

"Brooke, I know you. I've seen you pissed off, I've seen you happy, and I've seen you sad. I know you wouldn't have done any of the things she was accusing you of." He reassured her as he went back to applying bandages to her other wounds. Which, thankfully he thought to himself, weren't many. "I'm just disappointed I guess."

Brooke's forehead scrunched together in confusion. "Disappointed in what? Me?"

Lucas' head turned back to her sharply, shocked that she would even think she was the one he was disappointed in. "No, God no. I could never be disappointed in you Brooke."

"Than if it's not me, what?" She breathed a sigh of relief after the last bandage was put in place.

Lucas got up from his position on the tile floor and started putting away the first aid supply back under the sink. "In myself! I keep thinking, maybe if I had done something different, you know, this wouldn't have happened." He grabbed the sides of the sink and leaned he head against the bathroom mirror, his shoulder drooping in defeat and frustration. "Maybe I shouldn't have told her about you. But when she asked about it, she had sounded so sincere about wanting me to find happiness, even if it was with you. So I told her how I felt about you. Then she reassured me we could be friends, and I believed her. Stupid, stupid!" He banged his head against the mirror, kicking himself for being a fool when he felt a hand on his shoulders. He glanced in the mirror to seen Brooke's reflection now staring back at him.

She smiled softly as she squeezed him gently on the shoulder. "You're not stupid Lucas. Gullible? Maybe, but not stupid. You want to see the best in people, that's why you allow yourself to be so trusting. And besides, she loved you, and sometimes love makes you so stupid things."

Lucas turned around so that he was now facing her. He grabbed her hands in his and was amazed at how tiny they were, and how soft and fragile they seemed. If it weren't for the scrapes along her knuckles, he wouldn't have believed that her small hand could deliver such powerful punches like the ones he witnessed being smashed into Anna's nose. "I'm sorry!" He whispered, as he brought her hands up to his lips, and proceeded to kiss the wounded knuckles. "I'm sorry you were pulled into this mess."

Brooke reached out to cover his hands with hers when she heard her bedroom door smash open. The next thing she knew, Felix was standing in her bathroom doorway, with a ferocious look on his face.

"Why am I not surprised to find you here?" He glared directly at Lucas, his hands balling into fists, trying to contain his rage.

Brooke yanked her hand out of Lucas' and turned to Felix. "Felix, what are you doing here?" She asked him, trying to get over the shock of having him barge into her room the way he did.

Felix turned his gaze to her, and she realized than just how livid he was. Out of instinct, she took a step back from him, hating herself for her cowardice. "The better question to ask here Brooke, is what you are doing alone with him?" He spat out pointing an accusing finger at Lucas. "Oh, but wait a minute, rumor has it that you've been screwing around with him behind my back you slut."

"What?!" Brooke screamed in outrage. "Who the hell told you that?"

"Never mind where I heard it. You know, I didn't believe it at first, but seeing you here with him, just confirmed everything. So Brooke, how long has this been going on? From the beginning?" Felix took a menacing step towards her, his fists flexing in and out.

Lucas, having heard enough decided it was time to step in. "Look man, it isn't like that. I don't know what you've heard, but it's not true."

"Shut-up, you I'll deal with in a second, but right now I'm talking to my girlfriend." He said the word girlfriend with such disgust and venom.

Brooke took a careful step in Felix's direction, hoping to talk some sense into him. "Baby, you know I wouldn't do anything like that. How could you believe those rumors?" Brooke asked, her feelings extremely hurt. She reached out her hand to touch him only to pull back in reflex when he jerked away from her touch.

"Well, usually I wouldn't, but when it comes from my own sister's mouth, I tend to find some validation in them. And besides, it's not like this is the first time you've been accused of being a slut is it?" He asked her cruelly and smiled when the words got the reaction he wanted from her. He watched as her eyes watered, good, he thought to himself, hurt the way you've hurt me.

Lucas had, had enough! He positioned himself in between Felix and Brooke in an attempt to block her from further abuse. "What the hell is your problem man? How could you think your girlfriend would do that to you?"

"YOU!" Felix shouted as he lunged at Lucas, grabbing him by his shirt collar and slamming him against the bathroom wall. "I told you if you ever hurt my sister, you would pay."

Lucas saw the fist coming towards his face and managed to duck just in time. He ducked low and rammed Felix in the middle of his stomach with his shoulder knocking both of them to the floor.

"STOP! STOP IT!" Brooke pleaded, but her words fell on deaf ears as both boys were now rolling around on her bathroom floor. God, she thought, this could not be happening. Her day was going from bad to a plain nightmare.

"What? My sister wasn't good enough for you? So you felt the need to come after my girlfriend you son of a btch!" Felix managed to get out as he once again was at an advantage and attempted to throw another punch that finally connected with Lucas' jaw.

"I'm not after your girlfriend you dumb a$$! Your sister is lying to you!" Lucas' fist managed to connect with Felix's nose and he was finally able to free himself from under him when Felix fell back and had to cover his now bleeding nose. "And if you call Brooke a slut one more time, I'll break more than your nose." He shouted as he stood over the fallen boy.

"My sister is not a liar." Felix kicked out Lucas leg from under him and watched as he fell hard against the floor.

Brooke heard voices coming toward her door and ran out to see who it was. She smiled gratefully when she saw Nathan and Haley coming through the door.

"Thank God you're here." Brooke ran and grabbed Nathan's hand and pulled him toward her bathroom. "You have to stop them."

"Brooke, what's going on?" Nathan asked before he saw what she was talking about. On the floor he saw Lucas jamming a fist into Felix's stomach and watched as Felix doubled over in pain. "Oh great, first the sister, now the brother? Brooke, one fight wasn't enough for you today?" Nathan turned to look at her, a smile on his face.

"This isn't funny Nate, you have to stop them before it goes too far."

"Too late for that!" And as if to emphasize his point, Lucas was banging Felix against the bathroom mirror when it suddenly broke into pieces. Both boys oblivious to the falling glass.

"Now Nathan!" Haley said as she shoved him into the bathroom.

After a couple minutes of struggling, Nathan managed to get Felix off of Lucas and was holding him by the arms.

"Let go of me!" Felix demanded as he tried to yank his arms free.

"Not until you calm down. I've seen enough blood shed here to last me a lifetime, so unless you cool it, I'm not letting go." Nathan spoke calmly as he glanced at his brother to see how he was doing. "You alright there Luke?" Nathan asked trying hard not to laugh at the look on his brother's face.

"Not funny man." Lucas said as he wiped blood from his nose.

"Oh, I beg to differ, from where I'm standing, this is hilarious." Nathan said as he started laughing when his brother shot him a murderous look.

Haley, who had been standing with Brooke, her arms around her asked "Alright, anybody care to explain what happened here?" She asked looking from Brooke to Lucas and finally landing her gaze on Felix.

"I'll tell you what's happening. That slut…" He said pointing at Brooke "has been cheating on me with that jack a$$" pointing at Lucas. "And this jack a$$..." he went on "broke my sister's heart."

Haley and Nathan looked quizzically at both Lucas and Brooke.

"I told you not to call her that." Lucas bit out as he glared hatefully at Felix.

Brooke walked up to stand in front of Felix. "I told you I wasn't cheating on you pool boy, but you don't want to believe it. Instead, you take the word of your out of the mental asylum sister. I don't even know what I saw in you. Both of you are crazy, so why don't you take your sorry behind out of my house and check back into that institution you and your sister escaped from." She watched as the side of his jaw ticked and as he finally was able to yank his arm out of Nathan's hold.

"You'll be sorry you said that btch, you're messing with the wrong guy." With that said, he marched past her and stopped beside Lucas. "Enjoy my leftovers, since you seem to want it so bad." He stalked past Haley and stormed out of the house before Lucas could react to his words.

Haley ran over to Brooke's side, who was now crumpled in a heap on the floor, sobbing her eyes out. "Oh Tigger, it's going to be okay!" She said, trying to comfort her friend.

"No Hales, it's not. What did I do to deserve this?" Brooke sobbed as she hugged her knees.

"Oh honey, you didn't do anything. Felix is an a$$hole, he didn't deserve you." Haley looked helplessly at Nathan and Lucas.

Nathan went to the girls side and kneeled down on the other side of Brooke, as he too enveloped her in his arms. "Yeah B, he didn't deserve you." He watched helplessly as she cried into his shoulders, hating Felix and Anna for what they were doing to her.

Lucas watched from his position by the door. His heart breaking at the sight before him. "Guys, could you leave us alone for a minute?" He asked Haley and Nathan. "Please?" He said when he saw they were about to object.

Haley rubbed Brooke's back and whispered in her ear "I'm here if you need me Tigger, always!" before getting up and heading for the door where she waited for Nathan to join her.

Nathan gently pushed Brooke away from his body and looked at her face. He reached up a hand to wipe the tears from her eyes, but to no avail, since they continued to fall. "Hey buddy, we'll be right outside, okay?" Satisfied with the watery smile Brooke gave him, he too headed out the door, but not before stopping beside Lucas and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Tread lightly Luke, I don't know how much more of this she can take." He warned and got a nod from his brother. He took one last look at the crying girl on the floor before walking out, leaving Lucas and Brooke alone.

Lucas took a deep breath before he walked over toward her. He knelt down beside her, unsure of what to do, knowing all of this was his fault. "Brooke…" he started as he reached a hand to her, only to pull it back when she pulled away from his touch. "I'm sorry Brooke. I never meant for any of this to happen."

Brooke, still curled in a ball, turned to look at him. "I know you didn't Luke, but it did. And now look where we are." She said in defeat. "What has our friendship brought us but pain and violence?"

Lucas, alarmed and scared by what he was hearing, grabbed her hand in his. "That's not true Brooke. Look at us, look how far we've come as friends. You can't let the bad over shadow good that's happened."

Brooke looked down at the hand that was holding hers. "I can't do this anymore Lucas. I can't."

Lucas looked at her, afraid of what she meant by that. "No Brooke, please, you can't mean that." He pleaded with her.

Brooke pulled her hand out of his, and turned her face away from him. Her mind made up. "I think you should leave."

"Brooke…"

"Now Lucas. Please!"

Lucas hung his head in defeat. All he could feel was an overwhelming sense of loss. He couldn't believe she was doing this. He couldn't believe this was happening. He got up slowly and retreated toward the door. He turned to look at her one last time, afraid this would be the last time he would be in this house with her. "I know you're hurt Brooke. I know I'm largely at fault for it too. But I just want you to know that I love you and I'm not going to stop loving you, whether you want it or not." He spoke the words softly and slowly, making sure she knew he meant it. He waited a second to see if she would say anything back to him, and when she didn't, he turned and walked out of the house a broken man.

**_A/N: Okay guys, I figured it was time to end the relationship with Brooke and Felix, and what better way to do so than with jealousy and a fight. At least that's what I think. Before you get too mad by the ending, bear in mind that the title of the story is "Getting There" so with that said, don't lose hope for Brucas. I just feel that, with everything that is going on in Brooke's life, it wouldn't be realistic for her and Lucas to get back together so quickly. But it will happen. Just give it some time before they get there. Anyway, please tell me what you think. I look forward to hearing your reviews. The more of them I get, the quicker the updates will be. I need to know what you think, before I write, so that I can take your thoughts into consideration while I'm writing the next chapter._** **_Thanks a bunch!_**


	10. School Vandilization

It was Monday morning and Brooke was walking down the hallway toward her locker. As she walked through the crowd of kids she was vaguely aware of them whispering and pointing at her. She was about to round the corner when Peyton fell into step beside her.

"Brooke, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" Peyton asked as she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Brooke assumed she had heard what had happened with Felix so she shrugged her shoulder non commit ally. "I'm fine Pey, I'm not going to let what happened with Felix bother me anymore." In reality, Brooke had spent her weekend secluded in her room crying and depressed. Her friends had tried to call and check up on her, but she just didn't want to be bothered. She knew they meant well, but she just wasn't ready to face them all yet.

Peyton stopped her in her tracks. "Wait, Felix? What happened with Felix?"

"Isn't that what you were talking about?" Brooke looked at her questioningly and started to panic when Peyton avoided her look. "Peyton, what the hell are you talking about? What's going on?"

Peyton looked like a deer caught in head lights. She didn't know what to do. "You mean you haven't been to your locker yet?" Peyton asked with a pained look.

"Why? What's at my locker?" Brooke didn't even wait for an answer, she ran toward her locker only to stop abruptly in front of it.

"Brooke! Wait!" Peyton yelled, trying to stop her but was too late, she had already reached her locker.

Brooke stood there, shocked by the writing sprayed across the front. "Slut" she read as she reached out a tentative hand to touch it.

"Oh my God, who would do this?" She asked, bringing her hand up to her mouth as tears sprung to her eyes.

Peyton grabbed her friend in her arms, trying to absorb some of her pain. "Brooke…" she whispered. "I'm so sorry!"

"Who would do this Peyt? Who?" Brooke glanced at the crowd of kids that were now gathered around her. She watched as they whispered to one another. "I have to get out of here." Brooke jerked out of Peyton's arm and ran out of the school.

She ran out to her car crying and dropped her keys in the process of trying to unlock her door. She bent down to retrieve her keys only to see a pair of shoes step up beside it. Brooke's gaze traveled up the length of the person's body only to come face to face with Felix.

"Told you it wasn't over slut! Nobody plays me for a fool." Felix stared cold heartedly at her, and smirked at the realization that flittered across her face.

"You!" She said, pointing an accusing finger at him. "How could you do this to me?"

Felix crossed his arm across his chest and leaned against her car lazily. "The way I see it Brooke, you had it coming to you. I figured I had a duty to our fellow peers to let them know what kind of a person you are."

"You arrogant son of a btch," Brooke took a step toward him, her arm raised in motion to slap him across the face.

Felix saw what she was about to do, and grabbed her hand in his before it could connect with his cheek. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. I've never laid my hands on a girl before, but that doesn't mean I won't." He pulled her arm down and yanked her close to his body. "Don't let yourself be the first." He whispered before pushing her away from him.

Brooke opened her mouth to retort, only to be stopped by the sound of running feet. She turned to see who it was and saw Nathan, Haley, Lucas and Peyton running towards her. A look of panic across all their faces.

"I would take a step back from her if I were you." Lucas threatened, being the first to reach her side.

"Oh, if it isn't St. Lucas, coming to the rescue of his damsel." Felix threw his arms up in mock fear.

Peyton and Haley surrounded Brooke with their bodies, shielding her from further abuse. Brooke allowed herself to be enveloped in the safety of their arms. Her body was shaking with pain and outrage. She had never been treated so callously, by anyone. And she was shocked to the core by Felix's cruelty. This was definitely not the same guy she was dating.

Nathan stepped up beside Lucas, offering his body also as a shield between Felix and Brooke. "I told you a$$hole, if you hurt her one more time, you would be dealing with me." Nathan took a threatening step in his direction only to be stopped by Lucas' hand on his arm.

"We're on school property Nate, don't get yourself in trouble." Lucas released his arm, and stepped in front of Felix's face, his own face a mere inch away from him. "And besides, if I were you, I would think about moving again."

Felix cocked his head back and raised his eyebrows in bemusement. "And why would I be thinking that?"

"Because, as of five minutes ago, you've been expelled. You and your sorry excuse for a sister." Lucas informed him smugly.

"On what grounds? We didn't do anything? At least not anything they can pin on us." Felix started to tap his foot against the pavement nervously. Wait, he thought, what did Anna do with the can of spray paint they used that morning?

"On the grounds of school vandilization. Apparently, you and your sister really are that stupid. Why would you leave the evidence in your lockers? Anyway, Anna is in with the principal as we speak, and believe me, you'll be in there next." Nathan happily informed him. Satisfied with the look of fear that flashed across his face.

They watched as Felix ran out of the parking lot. As he disappeared from sight, they turned their attention back to Brooke. They looked at the fallen girl in front of them, and sighed deeply. Nathan was the first to approach her.

He gathered her into the protection of his arms. "I'm sorry B. You don't deserve this." He whispered into her hair. His heart broke at the gut wrenching sobs coming from her. His gaze traveled from Haley's sad face to Peyton's. He knew they were thinking the same thing he was. If they could take some of the pain away from Brooke, they would do it in a flash. "Do you want us to take you home?" He asked as he forced her gaze to meet his.

Brooke offered him a watery smile as her hand reached up to wipe her eyes. "No, thanks Nate, but I just need to be alone right now." Brooke turned to look at Peyton. "You can take care of cheerleading practice today can't you?"

"Of course Brooke, just feel better okay?" Peyton knew it would be a long time before Brooke got some of her spark back. She walked over to hug her friend. "I'll check on you later okay?" She whispered into her ear before breaking the embrace.

"Brooke, I'll check on you after school. I'll make sure to let your teachers know you went home sick and get the assignments you missed." Haley also hugged her.

"Thanks Hales. Okay, you guys get back to classes. Don't worry about me, I'll be okay." Brooke attempted to form a brave smile for her friend's sake and smiled softly when she saw their reluctance to leave her. "Seriously, go!" Brooke pushed them back towards the school and watched their retreating forms.

Lucas had stood off to the side, unsure of what to do. They hadn't spoken since that disastrous night in her bathroom. He wanted to reach out to her and gather her into his arms. He wanted to let her know that he was there for her, but he was afraid to. He watched as she said good-bye to their friends.

Brooke turned back to her car, only to stop when she noticed Lucas standing off to the side. His hands were tucked away in his pockets, and his shoulders were hunched forward. She met his gaze, and could read the sorrow and uncertainty in them. She hadn't returned any of his calls this past weekend and she knew it was killing him.

They both took a tentative step toward one another and stopped when they were no more than a couple of feet away.

"Lucas I…"

"Brooke I…"

They both laughed self consciously. Neither anticipated the encounter to be as awkward as it was.

Lucas shuffled his feet around him. "I'm sorry, you go first."

"Look Luke, I'm sorry I haven't returned your calls. It's just…" she waved her hand helplessly. "I guess I just needed some time alone."

Lucas took his hands out of his pocket only to run them through his hair. "I can understand that. Brooke, I really am sorry about the crap that's been happening lately. You don't deserve it. If I could take even an ounce of the pain you've been inflicted with, I would in a second."

Brooke was touched by his words. She knew he didn't intend for any of this to happen when he broke up with Anna. She reached out a hand and caressed the side of his face and smiled when he turned it into her hands stopping her from pulling it away. "I know Lucas. I want you to know that I don't blame you. But the end result is the same, and we can't change that. I just need some time to sort this out and figure what I want to do next. I hope you can understand that."

Lucas placed his hand over hers and pulled her into his embrace, a part of him scared that she would pull away when he felt her stiffen in his arms. He let out a sigh of relief when he felt her body relax against his and she laid her head against his shoulder. He breathed in the scent of her and smiled softly. "I understand Brooke. Take all the time you need. I'll still be here when you're ready." He whispered into her hair.

Brooke smiled against his shoulder. He always knew the right thing to say to her to make her feel better. She loved that he understood her needs. As different as they were, when it came to the things that counted, they knew they could count on one another. She pulled out of his arms and leaned on her tip toes so she could softly kiss his lips. "Thank you! That means a lot Luke."

Lucas licked his lips, savoring the taste of her. He was shocked that she had kissed him. It had been such a long time since they'd kissed and he was afraid he would forget what it was like. But, one couldn't forget a kiss from Brooke Davis.

"I'll see you later Lucas." Brooke turned and got into her car. She took one last look at him before starting the car up to drive away.

Lucas watched as her tail lights disappeared from sight before turning and heading back to his class. He looked at his watch as he ran into the building and realized he had already missed a good portion of his morning classes.

Peyton walked up to the door and knocked gently. She stood out on the stoop as she waited for it to be opened. She stuffed her hand nervously in her pockets when she heard the sound of the door being opened from the other side. And smiled at the person looking back at her.

"Peyton? What are you doing here? Is Brooke alright?" He asked her, worried something else had happened.

"Hey Lucas, no Brooke's alright. I just left her house before coming here." Peyton rolled her eyes at the look of relief on his face. She had no idea that he would feel this strongly about her. "Do you mind if I come in?"

Lucas stepped to the side to allow her entrance into his room. As he closed the door behind her, he couldn't help but wonder what brought her to his house. They hadn't really talked much since the cheating fiasco, and than Anna happened. "So, what's up?"

Peyton walked into the middle of his room, looking around curiously before taking a seat on his bed. "Not much, I just wanted to see what you were up to. You know, we haven't really had a chance to talk since you've been back. I mean, really talk."

Lucas took a seat across from her on his desk chair. "Yeah, I know what you mean. So many things have been going on lately. I guess we fell out of touch."

"How come you're sitting all the way over there?" She asked as she patted the spot beside her on the bed. "Why don't you sit over here?"

Lucas scrunched his forehead in confusion. Wondering why she would want him to sit next to her when he was perfectly fine on the chair. "No, I'm fine over here. What's going on Peyt?" He had a feeling there was more to her coming over than she was letting on.

Peyton, seeing he wasn't going to make it easy for her, got up from her seat and went to stand in front of him. She grabbed his face in her hands, and leaned her face toward his. "Alright Luke, I have a confession to make. I didn't come here just to talk."

"Than why did you come here?" Lucas reached up and removed her hand from his face. He suddenly felt uncomfortable being in such close proximity with her.

"I've missed you Lucas. I've missed us. Haven't you?"

Lucas jumped up from his seat and started pacing around the room nervously. He didn't like the direction she was taking with this conversation. "Specify what you mean by "us" Peyt." He stopped pacing to look at her again.

"I mean "us" Lucas. Don't you want to see what it would be like for us to be together. First, there was Nathan, than Brooke, than for a brief second there was us. We didn't get to give a relationship between you and me a chance. I figured now that Anna was out of the picture, you could be open to the idea again."

Lucas looked at her in surprise. This, he was not expecting at all. He couldn't believe it was happening. "I thought we agreed to be friends. I mean, after what happened between me, you and Brooke, we agreed not to try and complicate things again."

Peyton lifted her hand in frustration. "I know Luke, but I can't help that I still have feelings for you. And I think you still have feelings for me too." She walked over and stood before him. She reached for his hand and placed it over her beating heart. "This is what you do to me Lucas. Do you feel that? Do you feel my heart beating a thousand miles a minute when I'm with you? Now look me in the eyes, and tell me you don't feel anything either."

Lucas could feel her heart beating beneath his hands, and for a second, he was in awe of the erratic rhythm. Got, he thought, what was he supposed to do? He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he couldn't lie to her. He looked directly into her eyes before saying "I'm sorry Peyton, I don't want to hurt you, which is what I'll do if I told you I still had feelings for you. But I don't, I'm sorry." He pulled his hand away from her body, and felt helpless at the hurt look on her face. Knowing he was the one that put it there.

Peyton could feel her eyes sting from the tears that wanted to escape. "I see. Well than, this is awkward. Um, than I guess I'll just go. I'm sorry for coming over like this." Peyton turned to leave, but was stopped by his hand.

"Peyton, please don't go like this. I don't want you to hate me." Lucas pleaded, afraid he was losing a friend.

Peyton could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks freely now, but didn't want him to see them. "I don't hate you Lucas. Don't worry about it, but I have to go now, okay?" She said, her backed still turned to him.

Lucas released her arm, his shoulders slumped in remorse. "Okay, but I'll talk to you later alright?"

"Yeah, I'll talk to you later." With that, Peyton pulled the door open and quickly ran out of the house. Her hands wiping away her tears of rejection.

**_A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the delay in updates. FanFiction was having a little virus troubles so they disabled the uploading section. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. The ending to this story is a few chapters away, and I look forward to reading how you guys, as the reviewers, want me to end this story. I have a couple of ideas, but want to see what you think. Thanks, as always for the reviews, they've been great. I got one long one in particular that was great. Long reviews are always appreciated, that means you like the story, and you're offering me your opinions for improvements. My goal is to update daily, but I have to hear from you guys first, before doing so. Alright than, hope you enjoy this chapter. I tried to make it a little longer so you would have more to read. Thanks! _**


	11. What's Going On With Peyton?

Brooke walked into Peyton's room to find her drawing on her bed. Brooke rolled her eyes at the loud music blaring from the stereo and could only cringe at her friend's choice of music.

"Hey friend!" Brooke asked as she plopped herself on the bed. "What ya drawing?" Brooke snatched the drawing out of her hand before Peyton could respond.

"Brooke, No!"

Brooke laughed at her friend's outburst, but the laughter soon turned to a frown. Before her was a picture of Peyton and Lucas and a broken heart in between the two people. Above the picture of Peyton were the words _I love you and all I want is you and me_! Above the picture of Lucas were the words _I just want to be friends_!

Brooke turned a questioning look to Peyton. "What's this Peyt?"

Peyton snatched the picture back from Brooke's hands and tucked it away in her bedside desk. "It's nothing Brooke!" She said nervously as she started putting away her drawing equipment, trying her best to avoid Brooke's look.

Brooke reached out a hand to still Peyton's movements. "I thought you told me you weren't going to lie to me again Peyt."

Peyton did her best to avert her gaze, staring at anything but Brooke. "I'm not lying to you Brooke, really, it was nothing."

"Than why can't you look me in the eye and say that, if it's nothing?"

Peyton yanked her hand out of Brooke's and threw it up in the air in frustration. "God Brooke, why are you making such a big deal out of this?" She yelled.

Brooke got up to sit on her knees atop the bed, her hands on her hips. "Peyton, I'm not the one making a big deal about this, you are! You're the one that's yelling and acting like you're hiding something."

"Well I wouldn't be acting this way if you would just let the subject drop!" Peyton turned and walked into her bathroom, slamming the door in the process.

Brooke sat there and stared at the closed door in shock. She had never seen Peyton behave so outrageously. She made her way off the bed and walked toward the bathroom door. She leaned her head against the hard wood and took a deep breath.

"Peyton?" She waited a breath for an answer, but got none. "Peyton, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you so upset. You're right, you don't have to answer if you don't want to. I just…" she raised her hand helplessly. "I just don't understand why you can't talk to me. We're best friends." Brooke paused and waited to hear if Peyton would respond and when she didn't, all she could do was shake her head. "Fine Peyt, you know where to find me when you're ready to talk about this." With that, she turned and left the room.

Peyton remained seated on her toilet seat until she heard Brooke start her car and drove off into the distance. She walked towards the door, opened it a crack, and peeked out. When she saw that there was no one there, she exited the bathroom and made her way back toward her bed. As she sat down, she pulled the drawing back out of the drawer and sat staring at it.

She caressed the picture of Lucas tenderly and felt a tear fall from her eyes to land on the drawing. The sadness and pain of the rejection came flooding back to her all at once and before she knew it, she was sobbing into her pillow.

The loneliness engulfed her very being as her shoulders shook with the wracking sobs. It was times like these that she missed her mother most. Times when she felt like there was no where and no one else to go to. "I miss you so much mommy!" she cried into the empty room.

Brooke drove aimlessly through the streets of Tree Hill, unsure of where it was she was headed. It was Saturday, so there was no school, no practices to attend, and for the first time in months, she had no boy friend to hang out with. She was driving past the River court when she noticed a couple of people there shooting hoops and decided to pull over and watch the game.

As she parked her car she noticed Haley seated on the bench alongside the court. She made her way toward the table and caught Lucas' eyes following her progress. She smiled softly his way and waved her hand in greeting.

Lucas watched as she made her way in Haley's direction. He waved at her and smiled hugely, until he felt a ball hit his back.

"Yo, earth to Lucas, you playing or what man?" Skills asked him good naturedly.

"Nah man, I think something or rather, someone has caught his attention." Nathan egged on as he watched his brother's face turn a beet red at being caught staring.

"Whatever, can we just play?" Lucas asked as he ran back to the middle of the court to start the next game. But his focus was divided between the game and watching Brooke.

Brooke took her seat besides Haley to watch the game.

"Hey Hales, what's going on?" She nudged Haley's shoulders softly with her own.

"Not much, just come to cheer for my husband at his request." Haley said with a laugh.

"What a good wife you are."

"What can I say, I'm going for the wife of the year award or something." Haley said laughing before turning to inspect Brooke. "But how are you doing? You know, with everything that's happened lately, are you alright?"

Brooke smiled at the look of concern on Haley's face as she put a friendly arm around her shoulder to reassure her that she was okay. "Well, I'll be honest with you Tutor-wife, this past week has been hard, but nothing that Brooke Davis can't handle, and especially nothing she can't handle with out the help of her friends." Brooke leaned her head against Haley's as she pushed her with her shoulder softly.

"Talking in the third person, going for special affects are we?" Haley hugged her side, glad that Brooke was doing alright.

"Thought you might like that." Brooke turned serious eyes on Haley. "Hey Hales, you haven't spoken to Peyton lately have you?"

Haley scrunched her forehead together in concentration as she tapped a finger to her chin. "Hmm, not since Friday at school. Why? What's going on?"

Brooke inhaled deeply, unsure if she should tell Haley or not. "Well, I'm sure it's nothing but, when I went to her house today to see what she was up to, I found her on her bed drawing."

Haley rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Duh Brooke, she's always in her room drawing, there's nothing new there. What's abnormal about that?"

Brooke punched Haley softly in her arm as she laughed at her reaction. "I'm not done yet Hales. Anyway, so, I kind of snatched the drawing she was working on out of her hand and found that it was a drawing of her and what appears to be Lucas on it, with a broken heart in between. So when I asked her about, she kind of freaked out and started getting all defensive and stuff when I asked her what the drawing was about. And then locked herself in her bathroom."

Haley sucked in a breath and ran her hand through her hair. "Wow, I've never heard of Peyton behaving like that. Than what did you do?"

"Well, there was not much more I could do. I just told her when she's ready to talk she would know where to find me. Then I left. I didn't know what else to do." Brooke lifted her hand helplessly.

Haley placed a reassuring hand on Brooke's. "You did the right thing Tigger by giving her some time. She'll come around."

"I hope so Hales. I just wish she would tell me what's going on with her. It's like, she hasn't been herself lately you know?"

"I know, but Peyton's always been that way. I love the girl, but she's head to toe in issues." That got the desired laugh she wanted out of Brooke. "So, a drawing of her and Lucas huh? Wonder what that's about." Haley glanced thoughtfully in Lucas' direction, who was now going for a lay up.

Brooke followed Haley's gaze and met Lucas' blue eyes. He gave her a wink before turning his attention back to the game.

Haley, seeing this exchange, turned amused eyebrows back at Brooke. "Interesting, what was that about?"

Brooke shrugged her shoulders and giggled softly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Haley gave her a knowing look. "Uh huh, I'm sure you don't. But I won't push you for information. You'll tell me if there's anything I should know." Haley laughed as Brooke's face turned a becoming shade of red. "Anyway, back to Peyton, since that seemed to be a picture of her and Lucas, maybe you should ask him if he knows what's going on."

Brooke's gaze returned to Lucas. "Maybe I will." She said thoughtfully, knowing he would tell her if there was anything going on that she should know about. Not because he had to, but because he wanted to.

The guys had just finished their game and were making their way to the table. Nathan gave Haley a kiss before sitting sideways on the bench and pulling her against his chest.

"Urgh, Nate, you're all sweaty." Haley struggled as his arms wrapped around her middle.

"You know you love being in my arms, sweaty or not!" Nathan laughed as she scrunched her nose in distaste.

Lucas took a seat next to Brooke, and as much as he wanted to take her into his arms, he knew he couldn't. So he settled for being next to her instead. "Hey you!" He whispered into her ear.

Brooke turned to smile sweetly if not albeit, flirtatiously. "Hey!" They exchanged, what could only be described as an intimate look between one another before turning their attention back to their friends.

"So, what are you guys up to now?" Brooke directed her question at Nathan and Haley.

"Well, I am kind of hungry. Anybody up for some food?" Nathan asked as he looked around at everybody else. When he got the green light from the other guys, he directed his gaze at Brooke and Lucas who had yet to answer. "How bout you two?"

Brooke's attention was diverted when she felt Lucas' hand caressing her lower back. From everybody else's position on the bench, they couldn't see what was going on behind her back. She leaned into his hand and felt it lay flat against her back as it cupped her side. For two seconds, she closed her eyes in utter contentment at the feel of him there. She was pulled out of daze when she heard Nathan's question. "What? Yeah sure, I could go for some food." She turned to look at Lucas.

Lucas, whose attention was also diverted, smiled softly at her as she turned to look at him. Each time she smiled it took his breath away. He moved his hand away from her side as he heard Haley call out his name. "Huh?" He asked her, lost to the conversation.

Haley looked between the two friends, and smiled. She couldn't understand why two people who so obviously wanted to be together didn't just get together. "Nate was asking if you wanted to get something to eat with us."

Lucas laughed self consciously. "Is Brooke coming?" At Brooke's confirmed nod. "Sure, I'll go for some food. How bout my mom's café?"

After everyone nodded in agreement. They each made their way to their cars and decided to meet at the café.

Lucas ran to catch up with Brooke and caught her just as she reached her car. "Hey Brooke, do you mind if I ride with you? I didn't drive here today."

"Sure Broody, and besides, this works out, I needed to ask you something anyway." Brooke got into the drivers seat and unlocked the passenger door for Lucas.

"What did you want to ask me?" Lucas asked as he settled into his seat and buckled himself in.

"Peyton!"

Lucas paused abruptly mid buckle at the name before continuing with the task. Does she know about Peyton coming over the other night? Is she mad about it? These questions ran through his mind as Brooke shifted the car into drive and navigated it onto the road.

A/N: Sorry to leave this chapter like this, but I had to. Hope you're not too mad. Please let me know what you think. Thanks again for the reviews. I look forward to reading more of your thoughts. Next chapter will be up soon, and it will be longer. Promise!


	12. So That's What's Wrong

"Peyton?" Lucas asked as he settled deeper into his seat.

Brooke flicked on her left hand signal for the turn towards the café. "Yeah, Peyton. Have you talked to her recently? She's acting really strange and I just wanted to know if you knew anything about it." After she took the turn she turned to cast a quick glance in his direction.

Lucas chuckled nervously before answering. He was thinking of the best way to answer this question. He knew he couldn't lie to her, but he also knew that it wasn't his place to tell her what was going on. That was Peyton's deal, he didn't want to over step any boundaries between the two friends, and he was unsure if this was his place to say anything. "Yeah, I talked to her the other night when she showed up at my place to talk." He cast a nervous glance in her direction, unsure of what her response would be.

Brooke was surprised to hear that Peyton was at his place. Although, why she was surprised, she still wasn't sure of. Lucas and Peyton were friends after all. "Oh, I see. Do you mind if I asked what you guys were talking about? I mean, if it's none of my business, just tell me so, but I was just hoping maybe this would help me to figure out what was wrong with her." Brooke parked the car as they reached the front of Karen's café and turned off her engine before turning to look at Lucas once more.

Lucas breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't seem to be mad at the news of Peyton being at his place. He turned his body so that he was facing her in the car. He reached out a hand to stop her from opening the car door and exiting the vehicle. "Look Brooke, I'll be honest with you, as much as I would love to tell you the reason for her visit, I can't. It's not my place. I hope you can understand that."

Brooke stared down at the hand that was still holding hers. She nodded her head in consensus. "Alright Lucas, I guess that's only fair. I'll try and talk to her again." She smiled when she saw him visible exhale a breath he was holding. She had no idea he would be this nervous. She released his hand and patted him on the shoulder. "Come on buddy, I'm hungry and I'm sure everyone else is here."

Peyton sat in front of her computer checking her emails when her cell phone rang. She picked it up, checked the caller id and saw that it was Brooke's cell. She hesitated between answering the call and clicking the off button, she went with the latter. She glanced back at her screen to see that there were no new messages.

Frustrated, she slammed the keyboard and covered her face with her hands. She felt the tears fall before she could stop them.

That was how Haley found her. Hunched over in her chair crying. Haley rushed to her side, concern for her friend overwhelming her.

"Oh, Peyton!" She cried, as she kneeled down in front of her and pulled her into her arms. "What's wrong Peyt?" Haley put her hand to Peyton's curly crown and started running her hand down her head in a soothing motion.

Peyton wrapped her arms around Haley as she sobbed into her shoulder. "Oh Hales, I don't know what's wrong with me. Why am I like this?" She cried.

Haley, unsure of what exactly was going on, had no idea what to say to her to make her feel better. All she had to offer was a shoulder to lean on. "It's going to be alright Peyt. Everything's going to be alright." This was how the two stayed for the next couple of minutes or so. Peyton's sobs had finally quieted down and she was able to pull away and wipe her eyes.

She laughed self consciously before looking at Haley. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. Sorry about your shirt, I got it all wet." She said pointing to the shoulder she was crying on.

Haley brushed it off with a laugh. "Don't worry about it, that's what the washer and dryer are for." She placed a concerned hand on Peyton's shoulder. "What's going on Peyton? Does this have anything to do with Brooke being here earlier?"

Peyton tensed a little at the mention of Brooke. "She told you huh?"

Haley shrugged her shoulder. "She was just concerned about you Peyton. We all are."

Peyton waved her hand in the air helplessly. "Things are just so screwed up Hales. Did she tell you about the drawing?"

"You mean the one of you and Lucas?"

Peyton cringed slightly to herself. "Yeah, that would be the picture."

Haley got off from the floor to take a seat on the bed. "You want to talk about it?"

"There's really nothing to talk about, it's just a stupid drawing." Peyton stood up and proceeded to pace about the room.

"Are you sure that's all there is to it?" Haley asked as she tucked a leg under her.

"Okay, maybe there is more to it than I'm letting on. I just don't know what to say."

Haley patted the seat next to her and motioned for Peyton to take a seat. "Why don't you start from the beginning?"

"Well, okay, here it goes." Peyton started as she took her seat. "The other night, I went over to Lucas' to talk. When I got there, he looked so cute, you know? And then all these emotions and feelings came flooding back to me and before I knew it, I was telling him I still loved him and that I wanted us to be together again." Peyton rushed out in one breath.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Haley exclaimed. "You're still in love with Lucas? You told him? What did he say? What happened next?" She asked excitedly.

Peyton laughed somberly at her friend's reaction. "Calm down Hales. Nothing else happened. He didn't feel the same way. He said he only wanted us to be friends."

Haley placed a sympathetic hand on Peyton's, feeling her friend's pain. "I'm sorry Peyton."

"No, don't worry about it. It's no big deal. Yeah, it hurt at first, hell, it still hurts now, but what can I do?" Peyton shrugged her shoulder helplessly as she ducked her head.

"Well, I'm still sorry it didn't work out. And you're probably going to hate me for bringing this up, but I think you should talk to Brooke. Like I said, she's really worried about you. And worse yet, she thinks you're either lying or hiding something from her again." Haley glanced cautiously at Peyton's face, unsure of what her reaction to that would be.

Peyton sighed in resignation, knowing Haley was right. "Yeah, I know you're right, I just can't do it right now. Just please don't say anything to her before I do?"

"Okay, but talk to her soon. The longer you wait, the harder it's going to be." With that, Haley hugged her briefly before heading out the door.

Peyton watched her retreating back before allowing herself to fall back against the bed. How was she going to tell Brooke that she still loved Lucas? She rubbed a hand to her aching temples, and could feel the beginnings of a headache. Great, she thought, just another thing to add to everything else that was going wrong.

**_A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short, but I needed to explore Peyton's character a little bit more. And I thought it would be nice to add a little Peyton and Haley time. Hope you don't hate it too much. I tried to keep as true to the characters as they would be on the show. Let me know if there's anything you hated, that way I can improve it for the next chapter. I know I promised that this would be a long chapter, but the next chapter will definitely be long and well worth the wait. Thanks again for all the reviews. As always, looking forward to reading more. _**


	13. Moonlight Stroll

They walked side by side along the sidewalk. Occasionally their shoulders would brush and a spark of electricity could be felt, something that only happened when they were together. The stars shone brightly above them, as the moon provided their only source of light.

"Lucas" Brooke whined. "My feet are hurting."

Lucas cast a bemused smile her way. "And whose fault is that? That's what you get for wearing those shoes." He pointed down at her heels disgustedly, feeling no sympathy at all for her current dilemma.

Brooke offered him her best pout as she pulled him to a stop. "Come on Lucas, please?"

Although he knew what she wanted, he wasn't about to give in so easily.

"Please what? I warned you not to wear them things. You wanted to look pretty, now you can pay the price for it."

He started to turn away and walk again when he felt her body lunge onto his from behind. He muffled a silent oath at the unexpected weight on his back before turning his head to see a smiling Brooke.

"What the hell Brooke! You almost knocked me over." He scolded.

Brooke could only laugh at his comical expression. She knew she didn't weigh much and that he was only exaggerating, but still she wanted to appease him.

"Oh come on Broody, be a pal! You're the one that had this great idea to go for a moonlight walk, the least you can do is give me a piggy back ride. And besides, it's not like I weigh much"

Lucas grunted under the weight of her body as he struggled to readjust her on his back. "Says you!"

Brooke swatted him on the arm. "What was that?"

"Nothing!" Lucas denied quickly, not wanting to get into an argument about her weight or lack there of.

Brooke ran her free hand up and down the front of his chest and laid it his heart. She could feel it beating a steady rhythm. She wiggled her body so that it was secure on his back and laid her cheek against his.

Lucas could feel every inch of her body brushing against his as he started walking again. He could feel her soft breast rub against the thin material of his shirt, causing his nerves to stand on end. He could feel his heart beating, what seemed like a thousand miles a minute, and he could only pray she couldn't tell how much her touch was affecting him. "Alright than my lady, you're lucky I like you."

Brooke laughed at his mock southern drawl when he said my lady. She patted him softly on the stomach, but her hand lingered there a little longer than she intended it to. The hard feel of his abs felt so good under her hand. She had forgotten how nice his body was.

"Feels like you've been working out there. Who you trying to impress with this body of yours? Anybody I know?" Brooke wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at him.

They reached the River court just then and Lucas made his way towards the big oak tree overlooking the river. He twisted his arm around so he could bring her to his front side before taking a seat on the large stump.

Brooke's eyes widened in surprise when she found herself now straddling his hips instead of his back, her butt planted firmly in between his pelvic region.

"Well, I don't think you know her. But, she has beautiful brown eyes, these amazing dimples, gorgeous brown hair, and this smile that lights up a room." Lucas tapped her lightly on the tip of her nose as he wrapped his arms around her back.

Brooke brought her arms up so that her elbows were now resting on his shoulders. She tapped her chin thoughtfully with her fingers, pretending to be deep in thought. "Hmm, sounds familiar, this girl got a name?"

"Funny you should ask that, because, coincidentally, she has the same name as you." Lucas reached out to brush her hair over her shoulder.

"And now that I think about it…" Lucas tapped a lightly to her eyelids "you have her eyes." He ran a hand through her hair "you have her hair." And when she smiled, he placed a fingertip to her dimples "and, would you look at that? You have her dimples. Amazing!" His hand lingered on the side of her face, as he ran his finger up and down its soft and creamy texture.

Brooke, entranced by his hand movements, could only stare into his magnetic blue eyes. "Amazing?" She asked in a hushed whisper, her breath barely able to escape her lips.

Lucas smiled softly. His eyes afraid to leave hers, afraid the moment would end if he tore his gaze from hers.

"Yes, amazing. You're amazing Brooke!" He relished the feel of her body atop his, the position so completely intimate.

Brooke felt herself being pulled closer to him until her face was a mere inch from his. Her lips hovered over his as their breath intermingled with one another. All it would take was one slight movement for their lips to meet. Just one more inch, she thought, as her eyes closed in anticipation.

Lucas knew all he had to do was cover that inch that was separating them, but before he let his desires over take him, he knew he had to be the sensible one. He wanted their kiss to be perfect, not like this. Not when they were both just caught in the beauty of the night and the magic of the moment.

"Brooke?" He whispered. "Brooke, as much as I want to kiss you right now, it wouldn't be right. Not like this."

Brooke's eyes opened in surprise, the look of shock visible on her face. She pulled herself away until she was an arms length away from him.

"Right, yeah, you're right Lucas. This wouldn't be a good idea." Brooke pulled her body off of his, trying to put as much distance as possible from him. She turned her back to him so that he couldn't see the hurt on her face.

Lucas ran a shaky hand through his short locks. He hated the hurt he saw on her face when she realized he wasn't going to kiss her. He reached his hand out to touch her shoulder, and could feel it instantly tense under his touch. "Brooke, I'm sorry!"

By this time, Brooke had already calmed herself enough to be able to turn and face him once again. She offered him her best smile.

"No Lucas," she placed her hand over his. "That would've been a mistake. We're not ready yet."

Brooke crawled back over to his side, but this time she made sure she sat next to him and not on him. "Let's just forget about it okay?"

Lucas turned to look at the girl beside him, and couldn't help but smile. Once again, he mentally kicked himself for letting her go that first time they were together. He swung his arm over head so that they were now resting over her shoulders as he pulled her close to his side.

"Already forgotten Davis!" But he knew each time he closed his eyes for the next couple of weeks, the image of her straddling his hips were the only things he would see.

Brooke smiled at his words as she leaned her head against his shoulders. She breathed in his scent. "Isn't it a beautiful night? The skies so pretty." She pointed to the stars above as it's reflection bounced off of the river, casting translucent images.

"Not as pretty as the girl next to me." Lucas placed his cheek atop her head and smiled.

Brooke punched his leg playfully. "You sure do know how to sweet talk a girl Lucas."

"It's not sweet talking when I'm just stating the obvious." Even in the dark Lucas could see her blush.

Before Brooke could respond, they heard a rustling in the bushes next to them and both jumped in surprise.

"Well, well, well! Doesn't this look cozy?" Felix emerged from behind the bushes, a girl attached to his arms.

Lucas and Brooke both looked up in surprise and when they saw Felix, frowned in annoyance. Lucas got up from his spot, pulling Brooke with him and making sure he stood in front of her, unsure of what Felix's intentions were.

"What are you doing here Felix?"

Felix cocked his head to the girl next to him. "Well, I was trying to have some fun with…." He glanced at the girl attached to his arm, trying to remember her name, but for the life of him couldn't.

The girl giggled self consciously as she playfully swatted his arm. "Katie, silly!"

"Yeah, Katie, I knew that." Felix laughed to himself before turning to look at Lucas once more. "I was trying to enjoy myself with Katie here before you and the slut intruded on our evening."

He cast a derisive glance at Brooke. His eyes surveying her up and down as if she was the most disgusting creature in the world to him.

Lucas took a step forward, his fists already clenching. "I'd watch what I say if I were you."

Brooke grabbed Lucas' arm, afraid he would lash out. "Lucas, don't! He doesn't bother me. I can handle the likes of him"

Brooke stepped out from behind Lucas and walked up to Felix. "I thought you would go for somebody will a little more class Felix." Brooke stared down the bridge of her nose at the girl by his side.

"I went for you didn't I?" Felix said with a smirk.

Brooke could only laugh at his question. "Yeah, you did. It's pitiful though how much your taste in girls have dropped. Why, she barely looks old enough to be out of diapers. Rocking the cradle are we?"

She could see the dangerous glint that came into his eyes at her remarks. Brooke smiled in triumph though, glad she was finally able to make him feel the way he's made her feel each time he's called her a slut.

"Make sure her mother pays you well for taking such good care of her daughter. Good babysitters are so hard to come by." She said in her most patronizing tone.

Brooke patted the girls head mockingly. "Make sure you go home and wash yourself real good, God only knows where he's been." Brooke pointed a finger in Felix's direction.

With that said, Brooke turned her back on a seething Felix and made her way back to Lucas. She grabbed his hand and pulled him away.

"Come on handsome, the air suddenly reeks here, best get on our way before we catch something we don't want."

Lucas fell into step with Brooke, but couldn't help but take one last glance at the people behind them. And he could only laugh at the look on Felix's face. It was one of mortification and utter humiliation at being talked to the way Brooke just did to him.

Lucas threw his arm around Brooke's shoulder and pulled her close to his side, and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm so proud of you!" He whispered into her hair.

Brooke wrapped an arm around his waist and turned to offer him her cheekiest smile. "Did you see the look on his face? God, it was hilarious. I thought he was going to blow a top."

Brooke could only laugh at the image in her head. It had felt so good to be able to finally stand up to him. Especially after all those times he had bad mouthed her. "I wish I had a camera to capture the moment."

Lucas was happy to hear her laugh so freely again. "You did good Brooke. Remind me never to get on your bad side though. I would hate to be on the wrong side of that tongue of yours."

Brooke ran her hand up his back. "I'm sure you've already learned your lesson from the last time you ended on my hate list."

Lucas' eyes turned serious at the mention of that moment in time. "Yeah, I sure have. Believe me, I won't be making the same mistake twice."

Brooke saw his look turn from playful to serious in the span of seconds. She pulled him to a stop and turned to face him.

"I didn't mean it that way Lucas." She looked up apologetically at him, knowing how much it hurt him each time the past was brought up.

Lucas cupped her face in his hands and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I know Brooke, but you can't hide from the truth. I can accept that. That's how we learn right? From our mistakes?" He placed his chin atop her head as he pulled her in for a hug.

"Sad, but true." Brooke agreed as she wrapped her arms tighter around him.

"Alright then princess! Let's get you home and into bed. Don't forget, we have school tomorrow."

Brooke growled in protest, hating the mention of school. "Urggh, did you have to remind me?"

Lucas could only laugh at her response. He took her hand in his and started to lead the way back. "Oh, it won't be so bad. You'll be around your friends, but most importantly…" he turned to wiggle his eyebrows at her. "You've got me at school too."

_**A/N: Okay, I hope you all enjoy this chapter much more than the last. I had a reviewer who said my last chapter sucked, so I hope I'm making up for it with this one. I want to apologize, I realize I have been straying from the Brucas a bit. Just wanted you to know I didn't mean to, but was only trying to incorporate other story lines into this. But, now I know to just stick with the Brucas loving! So that's the way the rest of the chapters will go. Please let me know what you think! Thanks! **_


	14. Not Again

Brooke opened her door to find Lucas standing on the other side. His hand raised in motion to knock. As she looked upon his face she couldn't help but feel overwhelm with sadness.

Lucas saw the sadness on her face and quickly reached out to her, concern clearly etched on his solemn face. Only to grasp at nothing but air as she pulled away from his touch.

"Brooke, what's wrong?" He was alarmed by her withdrawal.

"What are you doing here Lucas?" She crossed her arms over her body, as if to ward off any potential harm.

"Don't you remember? It's Friday night, our movie night?" He stood there, hands in his pocket as he watched the emotions play out on her expressive face. But furrowed his forehead when it went from surprise back to withdrawn again.

"You shouldn't be here Lucas. Movie nights aren't a good idea anymore." Brooke reached for her door, ready to close it in his face, only to be stopped by his hands.

"What? Why? What's going on Brooke? You can't just cancel our movie night without at least giving me an explanation." Lucas laid his palm flat against the closing door. He could feel the alarm coursing through his body again as he saw her retreat further into herself.

Brooke closed her eyes, to summon an inner strength she hoped she possessed. As she opened them again, she could see his face staring back at her. She could see the determination in them, but at the same time, she could tell his was afraid. Afraid of the way she was acting. Even she knew she wasn't making any sense right now. Not when her emotions were all over the place.

"I spoke with Peyton today. She told me what happened between you two, and why she was drawing what she was. She told me she still loves you Lucas." She willed the tears that threatened to fall not to as she inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself.

Understanding finally dawned on Lucas as he breathed a sigh of relief. He thought it was something worse, but was glad Peyton finally told her the truth, because he knew it was bothering her. "Oh, is that it? Well I'm happy you two finally talked. I know it was bothering you that she was keeping this from you." Glad they had finally gotten that out in the opening, Lucas took a step forward, but was stopped by her raised hand.

"Yeah, we talked, that's why I think you should leave." Brooke tried her best to remain firm in her decision to have him leave.

"Brooke, I don't understand. If she told you everything, than she must've told you that I only wanted to be friends with her too. Right?"

"I know that too, but that doesn't change the fact that I still don't think you should be here." Brooke raised her hand helplessly as she felt a tear start to slide down her cheek. "Lucas, I can't do this with you anymore. I can't pretend I only want us to be friends, because then I would only be lying to myself and to you." She furiously wiped away the traitorous tear that had fallen.

Lucas reached out to gather her into his arms, and was glad that she didn't pull away this time. "Than don't lie to yourself anymore Brooke. Because I want to be more than friends too. We can have this. Nothing's stopping us from having what we want anymore." He ran his hand up and down her hair in a soothing motion.

Brooke allowed herself to be comforted by him as she soaked in his warmth, knowing this could be the last time she would be held like this again. Regretfully, she pulled herself out of his arms as she shook her head.

"No Lucas, that can't happen. I'm sorry." She wrapped her arms around her body, as if to make up for the lost of warmth that came from his when she was in his arms.

"Why? Why not?" Lucas ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

"Because I don't want to be involved in this sordid love triangle with you and Peyton anymore. The last time that happened, it broke my heart. And I swore to myself I wouldn't let that happen again." Brooke yelled.

"But it's not going to happen again Brooke. I don't have any feelings for Peyton anymore. Can't you see that? You're the one I want to be with." Lucas pleaded, afraid that she was slipping away from him right before his eyes.

"That's what you said the last time Lucas. That's what you said when we first got together, and look what happened." She whispered as memories of the past flooded back to her. The hurt, the betrayal, the pain! She shook her head as if to rid herself of them. "I can't risk getting hurt like that again. What happens if we get back together, and you all of a sudden realize you made the wrong choice again? I can't let that happen."

Lucas grabbed her arms in his as he brought his body closer to hers. "Brooke," he used his finger to tilt her chin up to his and could see the tears clouding her eyes. "I've never been more sure of what I want than I am right now. Peyton and I are the past. You and I are the future. Please, just give us a chance." He begged her as tears of his own welled up in his eyes.

Brooke reached her hand up to cup the side of his face. "Do you remember that night you found me waiting on your doorsteps? The night you were over Peyton's house?" She waited for his nod. "Remember how scared I was about my feelings for you. But you reassured me that the fact we were different was one of the things you loved about me?" He nodded his head again. "I believed you then Lucas. I believed you when you told me you cared about me. I believed you when you told me I had nothing to worry about when it came to Peyton, but then look what happened. I ended up hurt anyway." She watched as regret shown in his eyes and pulled his face back when he attempted to move it away. "Lucas, you're telling me all the same things right now, and although I believe you when you say things are different this time around, I still can't bring myself to open my heart to you like that again."

Lucas watched her as the tears flowed from his eyes. Just when he thought they could finally be together, the past came back to bite him in the a$$. "What can I do to convince you to open your heart again?" He asked his voice thick with tears.

Brooke used her thumb to wipe away his fallen tears as her own flowed freely down her cheeks. "There's nothing you can do Lucas. My heart will open when it's ready, not when I tell it to." She watched as he nodded his head in acceptance. She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him gently on his forehead. "I'm sorry!" She said, pulling out of his arms.

He watched as she retreated back into her house and closed the door. He stood there staring at the wall that separated her from him. He raised a hand to the wooden panel and laid a palm against it as he placed his forehead atop his hand. "I'm sorry too Brooke." He whispered brokenly.

Brooke was on the other side of the door with her forehead also leaned against the hard wood as her shoulders shook in sobs. Little did she know, Lucas was still on the other side doing the same.

_**Come to me now**_

_**And lay your hands over me**_

_**Even if it's a lie**_

_**Say it will be alright**_

_**And I shall believe**_

_**Broken in two**_

_**And I know you're on to me**_

_**That I only come home**_

_**When I'm so all alone**_

_**But I believe**_

_**That not everything is gonna be the way you think it ought to be**_

_**It seems like every time **_

_**I try to make it right**_

_**It all comes down on me**_

_**Please say honestly **_

_**You won't give up on me**_

_**And I shall believe**_

_**I shall believe**_

_**Open the door**_

_**And show me your face tonight**_

_**I know it's true**_

_**No one heals me like you **_

_**You hold the key**_

_**Never again**_

_**Would I turn away from you**_

_**I'm so happy tonight**_

_**When your love is alright**_

_**I do believe**_

_**That not everything is gonna be the way you think it ought to be**_

_**It seems like every time**_

_**I try to make it right**_

_**It all comes down on me**_

_**And I shall believe**_

_**I shall believe**_

_**Please say honestly**_

_**You won't give up on me**_

_**I shall believe**_

"_**I Shall Believe" by Sheryl Crow**_

_**(Taken from the episode "I Shall Believe" in Season One of OTH)**_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to update, and I'm sorry if this chapter isn't good. I've been watching some of Season 1's episodes, specifically the one during Brooke and Lucas' relationship and saw the way him and Peyton hurt her, and I just couldn't bring myself to write anything worthy for this relationship. _

_I saw how Leyton had total disregard for Brooke in "Crash Course in Polite Conversation," and how that continued up until "I Shall Believe." And you know what? I just really didn't like Lucas all that much after re-watching the first season. It sucked the way he treated her and used her. So I ask, how could I possibly write a fic about something that he never felt. And although he's redeemed himself this season, it's still not all there for me. He's going to have to work a whole lot harder. _

_In the final episode of the first half of this season "Don't Take Me For Granted" as much as I wanted to believe it was Brooke he was talking about, and even though he showed up at her house, it just doesn't make sense to me that it was her he was talking about. Honestly, I'm at a lost and don't know what to think anymore. Once again, sorry if this chapter sucked, but I just wanted to venture into Brooke's feelings a bit. She was hurt pretty badly last season, and it's unrealistic that they would get back together so quickly after the stunt he pulled. _

_The song at the end of this chapter is from the episode "I Shall Believe" when Brooke was by him night and day in the hospital. I just had to give major props to Brooke for standing by her man even though he was a lying scoundrel. Right now, I'm not so much a "Brucas" fan, but I am a major "Brooke" fan. Go Brooke! _

_So, what do you guys think? _


	15. Lunch Talk

Haley walked through the courtyard of the school to find Brooke sitting alone on one of the benches.

"Hey Brooke, what you doing here by yourself?"

Brooke looked up in surprise to see Haley seated beside her on the bench. "Oh, hey Hales. Nothing much, just thinking." Brooke turned her gaze to the student body of Tree Hill. "You ever wonder who here is really who they pretend to be?"

"Why do you ask that?" Haley too turned to take in her surroundings.

Brooke shrugged her shoulder carelessly. "I don't know, just asking. Guess I've got a lot on my mind lately."

Haley turned to face Brooke and for the first time noticed the sadness and defeat in her eyes. "Does this have to do with Lucas?" She asked placing a hand on her arm.

Brooke was about to object but could tell from the look on Haley's face that it would be futile. "Yeah. This thing with Peyton and him is just too much for me to handle right now. I'm sure he's told you about what happened the other night."

"He didn't tell me the whole thing, but he did tell me about Peyton having feelings for him again, and that, that was what you guys were talking about. Brooke…" she waited until she had Brooke's attention. "He doesn't want to be with her. You do believe that don't you?"

"Do you remember when he got into that accident?" Brooke asked, not answering Haley's question.

Haley, not wanting to push her for an answer, went along with the change in direction. "How could I forget? I thought I was going to lose my best friend."

Brooke inhaled deeply as she once again resumed her study of the courtyard. "I was so scared he wouldn't ever wake up again. I remember, sitting by his bedside and holding his hand day in and day out. Hoping he would open his eyes so that I could see them again. Some days I would just sit there and talk to him about anything and everything…" her words faltered a little as she recalled the event just like it was happening yesterday. "And then, there were those days, when I sat there, holding his hand, crying and pleading for him to wake up so that I could tell him how much I loved him."

Haley could tell how much it was hurting Brooke to remember the past. She ran her hands up and down the side of her arms, trying her best to comfort her and let her know that she was there. "It must've been really hard for you, seeing him like that." She whispered.

Brooke laughed softly as she wiped a stray tear from her eyes. "Isn't that what you're supposed to do for the ones you love?" She turned serious eyes to Haley once again. "But what hurts the most Hales, is that when he woke up and after he got out of that hospital, I wasn't the one he wanted to be with. I became a bad choice for him, because what he had wanted all along was my best friend. That's what hurts the most."

Haley opened her mouth to object, only to be silenced by the look in Brooke's eyes. She knew nothing she could say at this point would make any difference. "I'm sorry Brooke. I don't know what else to say."

Brooke brushed her apology off with a shrug of her shoulders. "There's nothing to say Haley. This is why I can't be with him right now. We've finally gotten to the point where we're friends. Why did he have to go and ruin by admitting his feelings for me? It's not fair of him to do that to me." She whispered venomously.

"No, it's not. That's why you shouldn't do anything you don't want to do. I'm sorry if I was trying to push you to give him a chance earlier. I hadn't realized there was so much more to the story than what I've already heard. Follow your heart Brooke. Just make sure in the end, you're happy with your decision. Don't let me or Lucas or anyone else for that matter, push you to do something you're not ready for." Haley pulled Brooke into her arms for a hug, wanting to offer her friend as much comfort as she could.

"Thanks Tutor-Wife, you're a good friend." Brooke said as she returned the hug.

"You know it! Now, let's get our tardy butts back to class, since lunch was over 5 minutes ago." Haley jumped up from her seat and offered Brooke a hand up.

The two girls walked to class arm in arm, not noticing a pair of blue eyes watching them from his position by the large oak tree.

Lucas watched as Brooke and Haley walked through the double doors of the school. He had come out to the court yard to eat his lunch, and had noticed Brooke sitting alone on the bench. He had been about to approach her, but had seen Haley walking up to her instead. So he had decided to sit under the large oak.

Now, as he stood watching Brooke and Haley leave, he couldn't help but feel empty inside. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, as the events from the previous evening flashed through his mind. He knew Brooke was hurt, and he didn't want to push her, but he missed her like crazy.

As he too shuffled his way into the building and made his way to class, he knew he had to think of a way to get back in Brooke's good graces. He would take it slow, so as not to scare her.

_**SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS**_

_**A/N: Sorry this chapter is soooooo short. I know it sucks, but I promise, the next chapter will be much longer, and will have more Brucas for you. I hope you don't hate this too much. **_


	16. I've Missed You

Brooke pulled into her driveway to find Lucas sitting on the rocking chair on her front porch. She shifted the gear into park and removed the keys out of the ignition, but hesitated to exit the vehicle. She turned to look out her window and found that he had moved from his position on the rocking chair to lean against the post of the house, watching her from where he stood. She sighed deeply as she recalled the last time they had spoken. It was almost a month ago.

_Flashback_

_They sat there together on the bench of the River court as they watched the first snow fall of the season. The flakes drifted slowly from the sky to land silently against the hard ground. Both were lost in their own thoughts, neither knowing where to begin. _

"_Brooke…" she started._

"_Lucas…" he started._

_Both laughed self consciously, neither anticipating that it would be so awkward between them. _

"_I'm sorry, you go first." Lucas, being the first to break the tension between them. _

"_Did you ever think it would be this weird between us?" Brooke let her gaze drift in his direction allowing him to see the humor in her eyes. And he could also see her start to shake a little from the cold as he watched her rub her arms up and down with her hands. _

"_No, I didn't…" He removed his jacket and draped it across her shoulders as he in turn huddled deeper into his sweat shirt. "But then again, with you anything's possible."_

_Brooke opened her mouth in defense, taking his comment offensively. "Excuse me?"_

_Lucas gave himself a mental kick in the behind for his choice of words. "No, no, that came out wrong. What a meant to say was that you're unpredictable Brooke. Each time I'm with you, things are never the way I expect them to be." He watched as she raised an eyebrow inquiringly, her cue for him to continue. "One of the things I love about you is your spontaneity. It's never boring when were together. You don't keep things bottled up inside like most people do. You call it like you see it. You're not afraid to call somebody out when they've crossed a line. That's what I meant to say." He watched to see her reaction to his explanation and breathed a sigh of relief when she nodded her head in understanding. _

_Brooke let his words sink in while she turned her attention back to the falling snow. "You know Lucas, you should really watch what you're going to say before you say it next time. You almost got a thrashing a moment ago. Next time I might not give you the chance to explain." She turned her attention back to him and offered him a smile to show him she was only half serious with her threat. _

_Lucas chuckled to himself as he shook his head at her. It was so like Brooke to speak her mind the way she just did. And he would be a fool if he didn't take her words into consideration, for he knew she could and probably would make good on her threat. "I guess I owe you a thank you than for not kicking my butt when I put my foot in my mouth a moment ago." He did a mock imitation of someone eternally grateful by placing a hand over his heart and pretending to bow down to her in appreciation. _

_Brooke slapped him across the leg playfully at his actions as she burst out into laughter. This was one of the things she liked most about him. When he let his guards down and loosened up a bit, he was a totally different person. "Damn straight Scott. You remember that the next time." She admonished. _

_Silence once again fell over the two. Both were relieved that the awkwardness was now gone, but neither forgetting the seriousness of the meeting. _

"_Lucas, I was serious when I said I didn't want to be involved in the whole Peyton and you drama. I haven't changed my mind about that. I just wanted you to know." Brooke stuffed her hands into the pockets of Lucas' coat as her hands were beginning to go numb from the cold. _

_Lucas glanced off into the distance, deep in thought. "I know you are Brooke. And I'm not going to push in the matter. I just wanted you to know that I'm going to wait for you to be ready. I was serious too when I said it was you I saw in my future and not Peyton." He turned his attention back to Brooke and smiled softly as he took in the vision that was in front of him. It was amazing, he thought to himself, that even after all this time the effect she still had on him. _

_Brooke nudged his shoulder playfully with her own. "Thanks Lucas. That means a lot. Peyton's my best friend and I just can't do that to her, not when she likes you so much. Maybe in time she'll get over those feelings, maybe not. We're just going to have to wait and see."_

_Lucas placed a friendly arm around her shoulder as he pulled her close to his side, relishing the feel of her body next to his. "We're just going to have to wait and see." He repeated softly._

_End Flashback_

Brooke pulled herself out of her thoughts and shook her head lightly in an effort to bring herself back to the present. They hadn't really talked since that night at the River court. Just hi's and bye's here and there. Brooke had purposely avoided being alone with him, not because she had wanted to, but to avoid the temptation of him. She knew if they continued to spend time together the way they did, she would forget about her vow to wait and give into him. Slowly, she wrapped her scarf tighter around herself and grabbed her handbag before opening the car door and walking toward the front of her house.

Lucas straightened from his current position against the post and tucked his hands in his pockets nervously as he hunched his shoulders forward. He had been wondering how long she would stay in her car, and now that she was out, he had no idea what to say to her.

"Hey!" He said finally.

"Hey!" Brooke came to a stand still in front of him as she took in his appearance. He looked the same, except for the slight shadow under his eyes, like he hadn't been sleeping very well or something. "Are you alright? You don't look so good."

Lucas laughed self consciously as he shuffled his feet against the snow. "Yeah, I'm alright. Just a little tired. I haven't been able to sleep very well lately." He brought his eyes back to her. "I've missed you!" He held his hand up to stop her from saying anything when he saw that she was about to. "Brooke, I know I'm not supposed to say stuff like that to you and I know you've been avoiding me, but I just had to see you."

"Lucas, you see me everyday at school. It's not like we haven't talked either. Just the other day you and I had a conversation in the hall." Brooke attempted to rationalize knowing full well she was feeding him a load of bologna.

"Hi and bye and how are you doesn't constitute as a conversation Brooke." He scoffed and immediately regretted his tone when he saw the hurt flash across her face. "It's just…" he lifted his hands helplessly. "I know we can't be together, but can't we at least hang out like we used to? Minus the whole making out deal? I've missed my friend Brooke."

"It's just hard Lucas. You have no idea how hard it's been for me to stay away from you. I'm just afraid if we do hang out alone again, I may lose all will and give into my needs and wants when it comes to you." Brooke huddled deeper into her coat.

Lucas lifted a hand to cup her chin before raising her face to meet his. "Would that be so bad?"

Brooke looked into his eyes and could feel the heat of his gaze. "No, it wouldn't, but that doesn't make it right either." She pulled her chin out of his hands and watched as his hand dropped lifelessly to his side. "I gotta get inside Lucas, it's freezing out here. You should get home too, you're ears are red and your hand was ice cold. Get home before you get sick."

Without thinking, Brooke leaned on her tiptoes and kissed him softly on his cheek. She wanted to kick herself for doing it, but when she saw the surprised look on his face and the flicker of hope in his eyes, she told herself it was worth it.

"Go home Lucas, you're no good to me if you're sick. We'll work something out so that we could spend time together. I'll ask Hales and Nathan what they're doing this weekend and maybe the four of us could get together. That way we won't be alone, but we can still hang out." With that said, she turned and walked into her house.

She missed the huge smile that appeared on Lucas' face upon hearing her words. Even though they wouldn't be alone, he was happy to get whatever time with her he could. With renewed hope, he started his trudge home, his heart a little lighter than it was before he had gone to see her.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

_**A/N: Here's another update for you all. Hope you like it. I know Brucas isn't together yet, but I've only got a couple of chapters left to this story, so by the end of course, they'll be together. I've been thinking about doing a sequel, but I want to know from you, the readers, what you think and whether you want a follow up to this story or not. Once again, thanks so much for all the reviews, it's what keeps me writing. **_


	17. Only In Dreams

_She laid her head softly against her pillow as she took in the night sky outside her bedroom window. The stars were shining bright and the moon was full as it cast shadows along her bedroom walls. She took in the sounds of the night. The crickets were chirping merrily and the night breeze could be heard as it brushed the leaves on the trees. _

_She could feel herself drifting off in sleep as the darkness surrounded her. When she felt another body against her bed. She could smell his scent even before she opened her eyes. She knew that scent anywhere and it only belonged to one guy. _

_The bed shifted under his weight as she felt his arms wrap around her body and his lips brush against her temples. She smiled softly at his touch as she turned in his arms. The piercing blue intensity of his eyes held her captive as she felt herself drowning in them. _

"_Hey you!" he whispered as his breath tickled her skin. "I missed you today!"_

_She raised her hand up to his face and gently grazed the side of his face. "Hey…" she pulled his face closer to hers until it they were a mere inch apart. "Mmm… this is a nice surprise." She closed her eyes as if to savor the feel of him next to her. _

_He leaned his forehead against hers, enjoying the feel of her soft skin against his. "Have I ever told you how intoxicating you are?" He whispered hoarsely as he inhaled her scent. "I can't get you out of my mind Brooke. Your smile, your laugh, your beautiful brown eyes…" He cupped her face in one hand. "Every time I see you I just want you in my arms." _

_She felt her heart beating faster and faster at his words. Words she had longed to hear. "You have me in your arms! The question now is, what are you going to do with it?" She raised her eyebrows in question. _

_He crashed his lips to hers in a passionate kiss savoring the feel of her with his mouth. His arms wrapped tighter around her waist as he pulled her closer to him. He could feel her body molded perfectly with his. The feel of her against him sent his nerves tingling and his heart fluttering a thousand miles a minute. "I want you!" He grounded out as he pulled from the kiss and looked deeply into her eyes. _

_She could see the question in them, and nodded her head in ascent. "I want you too Lucas!" And that was all the answer he needed as his lips came claimed hers once again. He rolled his body on top of hers as he lips traveled from her lips and along side her face. His breath coming in quick and shallow as his hand feverishly ran up and down the side of her body until it came to rest just under her breast. _

_He raised himself up to take off his shirt, but not breaking contact with her eyes. Not wanting to break the connection with her. He watched as her eyes traveled down his body and smiled when he saw the desire burning in them. _

_Desire coursing through her veins, she raised herself up to meet him as she grabbed his face in her hands and brought it back to her own. "I want to hear you say it!" she whispered. "Tell me Lucas, I need to hear it." _

_He smiled in understanding. "I love you Brooke Davis!" He brought his hands up to cover the ones that were covering his face. "I love you!" He repeated, knowing how badly she needed to hear those words. "I always have!" He wiped a single tear that found it's way down her cheeks as he replaced it with feather light kisses instead. _

Brooke awoke to the sound of her alarm clock going off in the distance. She burrowed her head deeper into the pillows, trying her hardest to shut out the annoying sound. But to no avail. Unwillingly, she forced her eyes open. She brushed a hand wearily through her tousled hair as she shook the last remnants of sleep off. She had been having that dream again. Of her and Lucas!

In the weeks following the appearance of him at her doorstep, they had spoken casually. She still hadn't wanted to hang out with him alone, not yet. But she had promised him they would hang out together, and today was the day. She had somehow convinced Haley and Nathan to catch a movie with her and Lucas.

Brooke quickly got out of bed and trudged her way to the bathroom to get ready for the day. After she was done with the bathroom she walked back out into her room and reached for her phone.

Dialing a familiar number, she brought the phone to her ear only to get a voicemail.

_Hey, you've reached Peyton, sorry I can't come to the phone, leave a message and if you're lucky, I'll catch you back!_

Brooke frowned into the phone as she waited for the beep. She had been trying for days to reach Peyton, but to no avail.

"_Hey Blondie, it's your bestest friend, whom you haven't called back. What's going on with you? Anyway, wanted to know what you were doing tonight, thought we could all_ do _something. Call me!"_ She clicked the phone off and threw it onto her bed. She didn't want to go out with Lucas without Peyton there. She didn't want it to seem like she was going behind her friends back knowing how she felt about said boy.

Brooke shrugged her shoulders in resignation before heading back to the bathroom to shower. Hey, she thought to herself, at least they can't say I didn't try to include her.

Well, she thought, today was definitely going to be interesting. How she was going to face Lucas without remembering her dream was beyond her.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

**A/N: Hey all, sorry for the lack of updates. Writers block. Anyway, I know this chapter is short, but I promise, good things to come. Hopefully, you're still reading! **


End file.
